Valentine’s Day Reloaded in Romania : Dragobete

When it comes to romance, the Romanians have never been lazy. Even if most of the people are celebrating Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February, the Romanians have their own Valentine’s Day. It’s called Dragobete and it is being celebrated on the 24th of February.

Even if this tradition isn’t as popular as it used to be some time ago, a lot of Romanians are still celebrating it.

What is Dragobete actually and why is it important for Romanians ?

According to legends, Dragobete was the son of “Baba Dochia”- another mythical Romanian character. In some parts of Romania, they people consider “Dragobete” as the first day of spring, and therefore, in the name of love, wellness and health, “Dragobete” is considered to be the day of the ones in love.
In this day, the unmarried girls take some snow and put in the home, and with the water from it, they can make love potions.

The most used love potion is mostly made by the maidens. It is made with water –melted from the snow-, old roses, holy water from the church(it is called “aghiazma” and it is meant to heal the ones who drink it from any disease) , some sugar or honey. All the ingredients are mixed together, and after that, the maiden must keep the potion on an unopened bible, in order to get the bless of God. After some days, the maidens must drink the potion, and, if they are lucky, they might get married quite soon.

Dragobete is also known to be a day full of gifts. Because it is the Romanian version of Valentine’s Day, the ones in love give each other symbolic presents, in order to make stronger their partner’s feelings.

Finally, it is believed, that whoever-from a couple- steps on his/her partner’s foot in this day, he/she will definitely have the dominant role in their relation. Therefore, the lovers are really careful in this day where they keep their feet.