Boboteaza
It’s celebrated on the 6th January. Just like Christmas it’s also made of a series of special customs which concentrates a variation of practices and faiths. The most important one is the one done by a priest from house to house called Chiralesa.
In the old days the suite of the priest was formed of people of all ages but with time only children took part. The Chiralesa is purifying custom and also used to sanctify and give riches. The priest’s arrival was impatiently expected especially by older girls; when they saw the priest the girls would put under the threshold glass pearls, era rings and six grains so as the priest would pass over them. Then placed under the girl’s pillows it said to help them dream of their husbands. The premarital magic during the Boboteaza had as center basil, the old communities seeing this plant as a totem and attributing it many erotic qualities. Now a day’s girls do everything the can to get some basil from a priest so they can put it under their pillows and dream of their future husbands. The people from Bucovina believe the basil was used to cover our savior when he was baptized; that being the time since basil was used to sprinkle holy water.
The priest was usually greeted by the man of the house carrying a candle. The wife threw before the priest grains of corn, hoping this would bring luck; if she didn’t throw the grains she would put them under the sheets where the priest was supposed to seat. The priest would sprinkle the whole house with holy water in order to cleanse it of evil spirits and the Devil.
Then the priest was invited to have a sit and taste the foods prepared. The priest would receive a hemp tow or recently a cotton one, believed this represented the beard of Christ and that it would gather all evil and that the Virgin Mary would sew bags from it and help save souls from hell.
Boboteaza’s Eve was a fast day. The ones who did this could turn around rain and hail storms, and the older girls would eventually get good, handsome men.
During the Boboteaza the most important tradition was the Sanctifying of a large body of water. It’s said that anyone going into a river or lake would be kept safe from illness all year round. The sanctifying was done near a well or a flowing body of water. The girls would impatiently wait for the priest to come and if by chance they saw a boy ridding a white horse they were sure to be married that year. It’s said that when the priest tossed the cross into the water all evil would be dispersed from it.
When it was time to get holy water a serious cram was made because it was said that holy water took before others was good for love, honesty and marriage. The holy water was given to drink to everybody in the family including cattle. What was left was kept in front of icons which were said to cure illness. Even dead no baptized children could be baptized if the mother brought holy water to their graves from 7 churches 7 years in a row. This is proof of the great faith people had in the healing powers of holy water.
People thought that the time before Boboteaza was the winter’s hearse. Rain during Boboteaza foretold a long winter, nice weather foretelling a good summer. It the north wind blew it was a sign there would be rich harvests, and if the projecting roof leaked it was a sign that good wine would be made.
All in all, Boboteaza, as a traditional holiday, reunites customs used for the renewal of time and the purification of nature, especially water.