Sântămaria Mică, or Precista Mică, on September 8 is the celebration of the end of the warm season, a time when people traditionally changed from headgear to headgear, and many changes followed. During this period, the peasants did and still do a variety of work: they collected the last medicinal plants, pounded walnuts, began to harvest grapes, sowed wheat, barley and rye.

In the Orthodox calendar, there are 9 days of commemoration of the Mother of God, starting with the Annunciation in March and ending with the “Conception of the Most Holy Mother of God by Saint Anna” at the end of December.

Two of these nine days are the most famous, being on the “border” between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.

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The Church celebrates the Nativity of the Mother of God on September 8, which is the first major holiday of the church year (the year that begins on September 1). It was fixed for the eighth day of the church year, because the number eight symbolizes the day of eternity, life without end.

On August 15, Christians celebrate the Assumption of the Holy Virgin (popularly known as Sântămaria Major), and on September 8 – the Nativity of the Holy Virgin (Sântămaria Mică).

The holiday of the end of the warm season

In folk tradition, it was believed that summer begins on Onofrios (Pious Onofrios the Great) and ends on Sântămaria Mică (September 8). Autumn ends at Sf Nicolae.

September is the first month of the biblical calendar, and the Romanians popularly called this month Răpciune, which means the cooling time, and there was also a saying: In the month of Răpciuni/Children fall on the fire, which means they are gathered around the fire.

“The holiday of the end of the warm season, the border day for summer, is considered the Nativity of the Mother of God, Little Saint, or Little Precious, on September 8. With the change of weather, people change their clothes, and migratory birds begin their journey to other, warmer lands, a sign that summer is over,” writes Narcissa Shtiuka in the book “Spiral of Holidays – Joints, Interpretations and Ideas”.

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In Oltenia, they hold memorial services “for the living” and consecrate autumn fruits. This is what Narcisa Știuca writes

“In the cities in the south-west of Oltenia, there are public holidays, also called Pomeni de Vii, large-scale events for the health of families, commemoration of the dead and consecration of autumn fruits. It is a festival of joy, a harvest festival, the transformation of nature into culture, because the fruits and other fruits of the earth were conceived by the labor of men. In Moldova, under the Catholic influence, it is the name day of the Virgin Mary, the day of the anniversary of the living, because Saint Mary (August 15, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) is intended for the daughters of those who have passed into the family. the world of the righteous, which bears this name”

Ion Ginoiu also writes about Sântămăria Mică as an astronomical boundary between summer and winter (in the book “Romanian Peasant’s Calendar – Days and Myths”). the border “marked by the closing of the land to reptiles and insects, the flight of migratory birds to warmer countries, the exchange of hats for hats, fairs and fairs where seasonal produce was sold and bought.”

During this period, the peasants were engaged in various activities: they collected the last herbs and healing fruits, pounded walnuts, began to collect grapes, sowed wheat, barley and rye.

This is what Ion Ginoiu writes about the religious significance of the holiday and about the legend

“According to the Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary was born in a miraculous way. Her parents, Joachim, came from the royal family, and Anna, who came from the family of David, were slandered and slandered for not having children. Joachim prays to God in the mountains, and his wife, barren and barren, in the garden, to give holy fruit to their womb. According to some popular legends, Ana could have become pregnant by smelling or kissing a leaf of hair or a flower, according to others, she would have been born from heartache, to a 7-year-old mother and a 77-year-old father. “.

According to folk tradition, on the holiday of the Mother of God, as well as on any other major holiday, they do not do household chores, do not wash clothes, do not clean the house, so as not to invite evil upon themselves. People say that on this day the prayers of women who want to have children, as well as those who are pregnant, will be heard especially so that the Mother of God will help them have an easy delivery.

And those who want to get married can pray to the Mother of God on this day to find a suitable couple. On this day, believers light candles in front of the icon of the Mother of God and share autumn fruits for the dead.

What was the weather like on September 8 for the last 40 years

September 8 was rarely hat weather, more like a hat, t-shirt and shorts. September 8 was very warm in 2008, 1994, 2011 and 2012. The coldest was in 1983, 1985, 1992 and 2021.

On September 8, 2008, it was +35 C in Drobeta-Turnu-Severin, and in 2017, it was +32.6 C in Calarasi.

For three years in Mercury Chuk, they were below -1.5 C: 1983, 1990 and 1993, and in 2008 the maximum was +32 C. The lowest temperature in the country on September 8 in the last 40 years was in 1985: – 9.8. C on Vf Omu. In 1991 it was -8.2 C and the warmest day was in 1982 with a high of +18.4 C. At Bâlea Lac in 1991 it was -6 C.

Constanta also had nights with highs above 20 C (in 2008 and 2019). In Sulin, the night minimum was +23.5 degrees in 2019.

In Timisoara in 1982 and 1994 it was +32.7 C. The coldest was in 1992: a minimum of 4 C.

In Sibiu in 1985 it was +1.5 C, and in 2008 – +32 C.

In Brasov, the minimum temperature was +1 C in 1993, and the maximum temperature was +29.8 C in 1994.

In Iasi in 2016 it was +32.5 C, and in 1983 – only +4.9 C.