Today, our guest blogger, Carmen Stefanescu, is going to tell us a bit about the Romanian tradition of St. Andrew’s Night. I hope you find this as interesting as I did. The “floor” is yours, Carmen.

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St Andrew’s Night – Romanian Halloween

We have no Halloween where I live, I mean Romania, better known to many people as Dracula’s country. However, there’s another tradition I can tell you about – St. Andrew’s Night.

30th November is St Andrew’s Day in Romania, a day full of symbolism as St Andrew, one of the 12 Apostles, is considered the one who made the Romanians Christians. But more powerful in traditions and superstitions is the preceding night, the eve of St. Andrew’s day.

29th to 30th November, called St. Andrew’s Night, is a magic night when people have to do certain things to keep the evil away from them. St. Andrew’s Night is, in some way, the equivalent of Halloween.  It has a lot of traditions and superstitions. Ghosts come out in the human world, wolves speak the human language and predict horrible things.  Vampires, zombies, ghosts living-dead wander along the roads in search of human preys. People who are attacked this night by evil spirits will turn into werewolves. To protect themselves against evil, people can use garlic and spells.

Here are several customs on this special night:

–  To get rid of evil spirits, and prevent them entering the house, villagers grease the doors and threshold with crushed garlic. They also use garlic to protect the stables, too. Animals are given basil in their food and housewives sprinkle the stables with holly water.

–  Mothers draw small crosses on the palms of their small children to protect them.

– The young maidens who want to get married put several leaves of basil under their pillows.  Or, another custom, if they want to see their fated husband – the girls should stay naked between two mirrors, at midnight, holding two burning candles in their hands. They will see in the mirror behind them scenes of their future life, including the face of their future groom.

– Housewives turn all the glasses and cups with the mouth down to prevent evil settling inside them.

– The weather this night predicts how the coming winter will be. If the sky is clear, the winter will be mild with less snow and warmer days. If the sky is cloudy, it means the winter will be a harsh one.

– St. Andrew’s Night, when the sky opens and the witches recharge their powers, is the best moment to find the answers of past mysteries and unsolved enigmas.  It implies taking part in an odd ritual in a graveyard. Then, in a basin with water,   over which an incantation is uttered, people will see everything that happened and wasn’t known.

Thank you for hosting me today, Marcia! I really appreciate it.

Author Carmen Stefanescu

   Shadows of the Past    

Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Genre: paranormal/light romance/light historical/light horror.                      

Anne’s relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.

The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world–one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil’s vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve’s soul from its torment.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?

A touching, compelling story of tragedy, loss and the power of endless love and good magic.

The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

Buy Link: Wild Child Publishing

http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=84&products_id=410

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-of-the-Past-ebook/dp/B00AK2D9I8/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354874514&sr=1-15&keywords=shadows+of+the+past

All Romance

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadowsofthepast-1013184-140.html

Buy Link: Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-of-the-past-carmen-stefanescu/1113910162?ean=2940015715026