Romanians are people who stick to their traditions. Even though Christianity is and has always been very important in our country, many of our pagan traditions have remained in rural areas, either unaltered or combined with (as usual) Christian elements.
There are a lot of traditions and beliefs regarding death and dying in Romania, there are even celebrations for them in which the dead are celebrated, remembered and prayed for. Four examples are Moșii de Primăvară (Spring/March 9), Moșii de Vară (Summer, June, before Pentecost), Moșii de Toamnă (Autumn/November 4) and Moșii de Iarnă (Winter/February 18). These are commemorations of the dead, when people make offerings, light candles, clean the graves, and are mentioned by the priests in the Church. The term moșii or moși would translate as “old people”, but is actually a reference to the ancestors, which is are our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and other ancestors. The dead are first commemorated and prayed for after their death, when people have feasts (called parastas) and eat in honor of the deceased, but there are other feasts held in their honor depending on the time that passed after their death. Besides these, there are even more death celebrations and then there are Moșii. There are literally hundreds of traditions and customs, depending on the areas in which they are held. There are certain foods prepared (like colivă), giving foods and goods to the poor and so on. Moșii are celebrated only on Saturday, and two of them are for a general comemmoration of the dead (Moșii de Vară and Moșii de Iarnă).
Moșii de Primăvară is among the most important celebrations of the death cult in Romanian tradition, and like Samhain and other death cults, it is believed that the dead come back to Earth on the Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday) and fly free for 50 days, then go back in the underworld in the Pentecost Saturday. In order for this return to happen without any incidents, people make rituals of calming the spirits of the dead.1
Moșii de Toamnă and Moșii de Iarnă, which are in Autumn and Winter, are called Moșii cei Mari, in an aproximate translation, Greater Comemmorations of the Ancestors. Moșii de Toamnă is held for all the souls of the deceased, both those in Hell and in Heaven, for they are all waiting for the Final Judgement. This is also done because Saturday is the day when Jesus was in buried and his soul went to Hell to offer salvation to all the people who have died.
On October 27, between Moșii de Toamnă and Moșii de Iarnă, there is the celebration of St. Dimitrie (or Dumitru. Saint Basarabov, born in XIII century or XV century in Bulgaria), the patron saint of shepherds.
On the night between 25 and 26 October, before the celebration of St. Dimitrie (or Dumitru. Saint Basarabov, born in XIII century or XV century in Bulgaria. The patron saint of shepherds), there is the romanian tradition of Fire of Sumedru (also Sâmedru or San-medru), which is thought to be 2000 years old. This marks the beginning of winter, and various customs similar to those of Samhain are practice. The main practice is lighting up nine bonfires made up of brushwood, grains and dung. The children start yelling “Lets go to the fire of Sânmedru!” and young boys and girls start jumping through the fire. It is said that those who pass through it will get married that year. Afterwards, old ladies come to give knot-shaped bread, walnuts and apples. The shepherds who want to know how the winter is going to be, put their woollen mantle in the middle of the sheep. If a black sheep lays on the mantle, it means that the winter will good, but if a white sheep sits on it, the winter will be harsh, with a lot of snow. Also, if in the night of Sumedru there is full moon and a clear sky, it means that the winter will be mild, but if there will be clouds and rain, it’s a sign that the winter will be cold and will have a lot of snow.2
We can obviously see the similarities between Moșii and Sumedru with Samhain and other celebrations of Death. The dead are commemorated, bonfires are lit, offerings are made, and of course, the similar date which falls in October.
Death is important to everyone, and every culture has a death cult. It is the Great Equalizer, which makes us all the same in front of it, thus we have developed entire cults, traditions and beliefs, we have gave it forms and names and attributes. It is a fascination and a fear that can be found everywhere, every time.
1 https://www.crestinortodox.ro/parastas/mosii-vara-pomenirea-generala-mortilor-74859.html
2 Marcel Olinescu, Mitologie Românească (București: Gramar, 2008), 316-317
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