Women, Mothers and Really Old Ladies

Now that March 8 is behind us (a day also known as Woman’s Day or Mother’s Day in Romania and, yes, flowers are expected!), it is time to introduce you to another Romanian tradition.

This time, we’re talking about a really old one, dating all the way back to the Romans: the Days of the Hags (Zilele Babelor), taking place each year between the 1st and the 9th of March. In Romanian mythology, this tradition signifies the return of spring and it has many different versions, but the gist of it goes like this: Old Woman (Baba) Dokia (probably short for St. Eudochia of Heliopolis) comes out with her herd of sheep at the beginning of March, and each day she drops another layer of clothing (one coat or lambskin every day).

People (especially women) choose their “Baba” beforehand, i.e. a day between 01.03 and 09.03 that they will consider…