{"id":12641,"date":"2026-10-26T09:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12641"},"modified":"2026-10-26T09:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:01:18","slug":"faithful-in-romania-celebrate-saint-dimitrie-demetrius-the-great-martyr-on-october-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12641","title":{"rendered":"Faithful in Romania celebrate Saint Dimitrie (Demetrius) the Great Martyr on October 26"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saint Dimitrie (Demetrius) the Great Martyr, the patron saint of shepherds and the herald of winter, is celebrated on October 26 in Romania.<\/p>\n

Saint Dimitrie lived during the reigns of Roman emperors Diocletian (284\u2013305) and Maximian (286\u2013305). The son of the prefect of Thessaloniki, he was appointed governor of Thessaloniki after his father’s death.<\/p>\n

Later, Emperor Maximian learned that Dimitrie was a Christian. Upon arriving in Thessaloniki, the emperor asked him whether it was true that he had given all his wealth to the poor and worshipped God. Dimitrie confessed that he was a Christian and denounced the worship of the pagan gods.<\/p>\n

As punishment, Dimitrie was imprisoned and stabbed to death with a spear. Today, he is considered Thessaloniki\u2019s patron saint.<\/p>\n

Traditions for Saint Dimitrie\u2019s Day<\/h2>\n

After the feast of Saint Parascheva, Saint Dimitrie’s Day is the last and most important autumn celebration, which, according to pastoral superstitions, marks the beginning of winter. The feast dedicated to him is welcomed every year with church patronal celebrations, memorial meals featuring round bread rolls, as well as games involving live fires.<\/p>\n

On the eve of the feast, on the night of October 25, people observe \u201cS\u00e2medru’s Fire,\u201d when they customarily light fires in their yards or on hills, according to ProTV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to popular tradition, people who jump over the flames will enjoy good health throughout the year and be spared trouble, misfortune, and illness. The fire is meant to drive away wild animals and also has fertility powers, so after it is extinguished, people customarily scatter the ashes and charcoal in their gardens.<\/p>\n

Women customarily distribute pretzels, walnuts, apples, bread, grapes, and dried plums to everyone who jumps over the fire.<\/p>\n

The dead are also commemorated on this day, and people give alms of S\u00e2medru’s coliv\u0103 (a traditional boiled wheat dish used in memorial rituals), as well as cross-shaped bread rolls.<\/p>\n

In Romanian folklore, it is said that on Saint Dimitrie’s Day warmth enters the earth and frost begins to show its teeth.<\/p>\n

According to tradition, S\u00e2medru was considered the patron saint of shepherds. To find out what the coming winter will be like, shepherds customarily lay their sheepskin coat on the grass in the middle of their flock, waiting to see which sheep will lie on it. If a black sheep lies down on it, it means the winter will be mild, while if a white sheep lies down, the winter will be harsh.<\/p>\n

Another way to find out what the winter will be like is to observe the sheep’s movements on the morning of Saint Dimitrie’s feast. If a white sheep wakes up first in the morning and heads south, the winter will be harsh; if a black sheep wakes up and heads north, the winter will be mild.<\/p>\n

Specific traditions are also still kept in different regions of Romania. In Bucovina, people who plant garlic after Saint Dimitrie’s feast will suffer nothing but losses the following year. In the Oltenia region, people believe that only by observing all the traditions associated with this feast will they truly be protected from trouble and danger.<\/p>\n

Combs must not be used on Saint Dimitrie’s Day. Otherwise, according to popular belief, you will bring trouble and danger upon yourself. Saint Dimitrie’s Day is also a day for settling agreements.<\/p>\n

Dimitrie the protector of Bucharest<\/h2>\n

One day later, on October 27, Saint Venerable Dimitrie the New of Basarabov, the protector of Bucharest, is honored.<\/p>\n

The saint was born south of the Danube, in Bulgaria. He lived in the 13th century, during the Vlach-Bulgarian \u201cempire\u201d of Tarnovo, founded by the brothers Peter and Asen. He lived in a cave, and tradition says that, before his death, he lay down by himself between two stone slabs, as if in a coffin.<\/p>\n

His relics were placed in June 1774 in what is now the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saint Dimitrie (Demetrius) the Great Martyr, the patron saint of shepherds and the herald of winter, is celebrated on October 26 in Romania. Saint Dimitrie lived during the reigns of Roman emperors Diocletian (284\u2013305) and Maximian (286\u2013305). The son of the prefect of Thessaloniki, he was appointed governor of Thessaloniki after his father’s death. Later, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12641\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}