Dragobetele is a popular holiday celebrated by Romanians on February 24. Many traditions, customs and superstitions are associated with this day, when girls and boys must meet and confess their love. According to folk tradition, on Dragobet, birds gather in flocks, chirp, mate and start building their nests, in which they raise their young.

Dragobetele is the “god of love”, it was also called Cap de Prămăvară. Dragobetele, a symbol of good mood, can be associated with Cupid, the Roman god of love, and also with Eros, the Greek god of love.

Less well known is Nevalnikul, who is the personification of passionate love in Romanian mythology. Fern is a type of large-leaved fern that grows in forests and rocky areas. In the past it was summoned by witches for love spells, and when it was done for beneficial purposes, it was collected in the morning and brought to the village for the girls and women to carry around the village. When he was summoned for evil purposes to separate people who loved each other, the rush was picked up at midnight by a naked witch with disheveled hair who collapsed in front of the plant.

“According to folk tradition, birds gather in flocks on Dragobet, chirp, mate and start building their nests where they raise their young. For this reason, in some settlements in the north of Oltenia, this day is called Engagement or Bird Companions. Unaccompanied birds on this day are said to remain clumsy and without chicks until next year’s Dragobete Day,” writes Ion Ginoiu. Also according to this idea, on this day, girls and boys should meet to “make Dragobetele”, and the gesture can be very simple, for example, a light touch. It was a kind of guarantee that the girls would be loved all year round.

Legend has it that girls and boys went to the forest, chirped and collected spring flowers (snowdrops, snowdrops). Apparently, the well-known formula was also shouted: “The jeweler kisses the girls!”

The legend also says that the girls, like the birds, “fly away” – a ritual flight that ends with the boys catching them and kissing them.

“On Dragobet, swings were made for girls, which hung from tree branches, young men tried to say kind words to each other, drip, i.e. pinch, kiss, make love agreements. “Pearls” are called boys who are overcome by the thrill of love, as well as buds collected by girls from tree branches and put in their ears, like cherries in May,” writes Ion Ginu.

In some places, this day was not done, because it was considered a bad omen. Before Dragobet, but in some areas also on March 1 or 3, girls melted snow and saved water, which they then used to wash their faces on certain days of the year, for the freshness of the skin.

There are legends that represent Dragobeth as the son of Baba Dochia, a being, half-human, half-spirit, a being that walks the world, but cannot be seen because the world has become a place full of carrion.

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