Romanian love stories

Between myths and legend

 Povestea de dragoste dintre Ana si Butu

In the Ceahlăului massif, the holy mountain of the

Romans, there is a separate rock, which seems detached
from the landscape, very difficult to climb, being found
under the name of Butu's Turn ”. This rock bears a
backstory of love as only Romanians can spend.

Foto: Ana and Butu cliff, Ceahlau Mountains

About the time of Alexander the Good, about 500 years

ago, a young and brave young man, as few were at that
time, was chosen to marry Ana, the beautiful daughter of
the ruler. There was great love between the two, even the
date of the wedding had been established, but, as fate is
sometimes fiercer, the co-owners had reached the border of
Moldova. Alexander the Good sent Butu, along with 500
men to help the Lions to defeat their enemies.
After fierce battles, Butu fell sick and gave his last breath
on the battlefield. Upon hearing the news, Ana was
overwhelmed and wept nonchalantly after the man she
loved as her eyes turned. He no longer wanted to hear from
other men because he had sworn eternal love to Butu.

The ruler, seeing his suffering daughter, decided that he

should marry her with a vase boyfriend. It had been more
than six months since the terrible incident, and Ana was
still crying over her boyfriend. Nor did he want to hear
about the great man, let alone the rich boyar.

Because his father had already set the date of the wedding,
Ana had only one hope. He called for a witch, Helga, who
could wake the dead from the grave. Helga told him that
he may resurrect Butu, but he would appear like a tomboy.
Excited Ana accepted, and on the wedding night, Butu
appeared riding a horse. They ran together over the hills
and alas for their love to be fulfilled.
 Legend of Dragobetelor

The holiday of Dragobete is celebrated every year on

February 24 and has deep roots in Romanian culture and
traditions, the legend saying that it extends from the
Dacian era. Beyond the fact that it is the Romanian
holiday of love, few know who the real Dragobetele was.
This holiday marks not only the love of the Romanians, but
also the beginning of spring and the agricultural year, the
moment when the whole nature reborn and the birds seek
their nests.

In mythology
Dragobetele is identified with Eros, the god of love in
Greek mythology and with Cupid, the god of love in
Roman mythology, this being chosen as the protector of the
love of the Romans. Legend has it that Dragobtele, a
strong and handsome young man, was the son of the
Dochia babysitter and was an extremely loving boy who
 made young girls lose their minds. Dragobete is associated
with the image of the young and brave man, as a Fat-
Beautiful. The old customs also say that on February 24,
people set up their houses to make a beautiful reception for
the "god of love" who came with the rings loaded with gifts
of love. Also, everyone in the household tried not to meet
Dragobete without a person next to them because, in the
contract case, they were doomed to wait another year until
they would find their partner.
Legend has it that ...
The feast of Dragobete started from the legend in which it
was said that immediately after lunch, in the Romanian
villages where love is celebrated, the young people returned
from the forest, with the bouquets of spring flowers. At
that moment, in the village hearth, the ritual of begging
would begin: the poor men were running the virgins they
liked, in an attempt to kiss and share their love. If the girl
gets caught and kissed, this would lead to the engagement
and then to the marriage of the two. The event was marked
by luck and luck, as it unfolded under the sign of the god
of love.
 To this day, February 24 has remained the significance of
nature's awakening, the birds that begin to search for nests
and the people who resonate with nature's awakening to
life. With February 24, the whole meadow nature of the
merry-go-round, the birds took flight, the trees begin to
bloom, the day increases.

A legend of the Black Sea - Prince Tomis and the princess

of the mermaids

It is said that once, for a long time, a great king lived in a

far country, with many beautiful and brave sons. One of
the princes, the youngest of them, was called Tomis ... They
had the king and his princes of all, fine lands, countless
armies, gold, silver and unmatched of all kinds, as nowhere
in the world could one boast that he would he still had.
Moreover, the waters that bathed the banks of the
kingdom were full of fish and hundreds of beautiful ships
floated on the waves of their ocean.
 But a black meteahn had the King of the World, he liked
to hunt all mysterious creatures and above all, mermaids
especially. One day, after finding out from his captains
that no siren has ever been seen in the nearby waters, the
King calls his virgins for advice. He told them to take each
one of them in a ship and to go far, to hunt the last
fantastic creatures, which were said to exist in the depths.
The princes listened to him and took each his own path,
Tomis to the east and his brothers to the West.

And Prince Tomis went with his ship for days and months,
without following any sirens. All this until it reached the
Great Sea, the one with which it was dark. One night, the
prince's ship was caught by a terrible storm, with waves as
high as a palace, sweeping the deck of the ship. Such a
wave caught Tomis and took him into the depths of the
sea. But the prince had days: a tiny stream of water took
him out of the whirlpools and carried him to the shoreline
of a beach. She was Negreana, a beautiful mermaid
princess, towards the king of the depths and among the
last remaining deeds of his tribe.

The Princess of Water cares for the Prince of Earth for

many days, until she is well off. They loved each other
dearly and made oaths for life. One day, Tomis returned to
his ship and told the captain (a former servant of his
father) that he had decided to stay in the mermaids and not
complete the bloody mission of the King of the World.
Even that day, the storm again broke over the Sea.

Scared that his lover might be hurt again, Sirena came by

the ship. Tomis wasn't on deck, but the Captain did. When
he saw her, the servant put his hand on a spear and struck
the princess with death. It was just then that the prince
went up on the deck and saw the love of his life sink into
the depths, encompassed by the unseen clutches of death.
She jumped after her and they both died ... It is said that
 since then, the Stormy Sea has taken the name of the
mermaid princess. Also, on the shore that the prince and
princess had loved, the locals raised a proud fortress, which
they named Tomis.

Special thanks to our students who helped create this chapter:

Balu Andreea
Brazovan Iulia
Dan Emanuel
Ion Iustina
Olariu Clarisa
Streian Isabella
Toderoni Isaura