One of the”qualities” Romanian people have is the one of mixing different traditions that come from other countries. Unfortunately this mix up proves to be a mutation which destroys our old customs which as time passes by we like to forget and never recognize them as ours. Actually all I’m saying now it’s not new. The story’s old, we could say. And the examples are a lot, I don’t even want to remember them to you. We all know about them and we are fed up. I don’t want to create the impression that I like to argue or I want to observe something new.

For exchange I would like to remind you and if it’s possible to correct some of the stuff you’ve always thought they are ours. For example when it comes to love, there are two customs:  Valentine’s Day and roses. We are familiar with the Valentine’s Day situation, so I won’t insist on that. But what do I have with roses, the noble and savage flower of love?

This is the way things are: Romanians flower of love is actually the basil. Not the rose, lily or other famous herbs .Basil was the flower of love for a long time and it is believed that it brought luck and love to those who wore it.

It is said that basil was created because of an unshared love between a young girl and a boy. The legend says that the beautiful girl died when she was young and her lover boy went every day to her grave so he could cry there. In a short time on the tomb, in the places where the tears fell, a flower grew up. The flower smelled beautiful. The miracle was so big because during that time it happened that all the country was passing through a though period of drought. The flower was named after the boy’s name, Busuioc (Basil).

Girls used to wear it in the hair when they went at church on Sunday, or went to different social meetings that were held in the village. Boys also used to wear them in their hats. Basil was used at incantation to chase away the evil from the youngsters and to bring love.

Girls used to collect basil and whispering an incantation they had to put it under the pillow, on a certain period. It is believed that in this way, at night the girls will dream the face of the future husband. This custom was spread all over the country with few changes and it is well known that a lot of this type of customs that involved basil was very popular among young persons.