Robert Benu clasa VI B

Old Romanian superstitions about eclipses

According to the Romanians’ old beliefs, eclipses were caused by vampires, creepy monsters that bit greedily the holy Body of the Sun.

In winter, when the werewolves can turn into people, they descend over the fields and harm those they encounter. Eclipses can have other causes : the sun is eaten by the Mother Forest , it is taken down from the sky by the witches or itself covers the lit face so as not to see the pople’s sins on Earth.

The spectacular astronomical phenomenon was interpreted as a manifestation of God’s wrath, as a portent of misfortune. Awestruck, the pople worshipped, bowed, lit incense, and made loud noises... they beat the chop, rang the bells, banged the pots and the old metal buckets, fired their rifles cracked their whips and shouted to frighten and chased away the werewolves when they bit the Moon and the Sun.

The end of the eclipse was greeted with great explosion of joy : both the Sun in the sky and the people on land were saved from extinction.