Romanian ethnography and folklore - ancestral legends and traditions
Beautiful day on Tuesday (June 24, 2021), when I organized an evening assembly featuring the Universal day of the Romanian Blouse, highlighting at the same time relevant concepts pertaining to Romanian ethnography and folklore, as well as ancestral legends and traditions.
Aside
of that, I would like to remind that our province slowly continues to reopen further
and further (in staged phases), but
since I still can sense a significant amount of anxiety in the air, for the
time being, I've decided to continue with my events on line.
At this gathering, I was very happy that Consul Grecea could join the group (Honorable Grecea is the General Consul of Romania and the Head of the Romanian
Diplomatic Mission in Vancouver, as well as Plenipotentiary Minister of Romania
in Canada).
After all my guests arrived, I delivered my opening remarks and then I’ve
presented a condensed slide show (published
below) featuring the fundamental concepts of the Romanian Blouse (Ro: 'Ie'), as well as highlighting another
old tradition, called 'Sânzienele' (or 'Drăgaica' in some parts of Romania).
Before I will give you a general overview of the talks that happened, for your convenience, below are
some reference details:
a) Background info about the UNIVERSAL DAY OF THE ROMANIAN BLOUSE
The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse (Ro: 'Ziua Iei') is celebrated each year on June 24, all around the
world, since 2013….over the last few years, this occasion has become a truly global event
celebrated on six continents and in more than 55 countries. This movement grew
exponentially, with an audience of millions of people around the world, fact
which contributed decisively to the rebirth and a renewed interest in
traditional Romanian culture.
This festivity (the Day of the Romanian
Blouse) entered the annual program of museums and cultural institutions in
the country and abroad, being marked both by the Romanian embassies and by the
diplomatic missions of Romania. Generally
speaking, these blouses are very beautiful and highly regarded by many, being
considered special "ethnological artifacts, communicating through hand-embroidered
symbols the identity of their wearer".
On
this day, Romanians and all those who love and appreciate the Romanian culture, are
asked to wear a traditional Romanian blouse or shirt.
b) Background info
about 'SÂNZIENE'
Also,
in Romanian folk beliefs, June 24 marks the Midsummer Day, called 'Sânzienele' (or 'Drăgaica' in some parts of the country)
– a summer festival which celebrates nature and fertility (fecundity). According to several legends, 'Sânzienele' are very
beautiful girls who live in forests or areas unexplored by people, “considered
to be the fairies of the field, giving special powers to the flowers and the
weeds, which are turned into medicinal herbs around the June 24 celebration. It
is not a coincidence that all the plants stop growing after the day of Sânziene.” On
the same day (June 24) Christians celebrate
the birth of St. John the Baptist.
Then
the evening continued with Consul Grecea’s talk, which re-emphasized the historic
significance of the Romanian traditional blouse ('Ie'), its authenticity, as well as its beautiful continuity over
centuries. (note: another personal message from Consul Grecea is in comments section). After that, each guest of the evening spoke about his or her regional outfit (the Romanian blouse as well as the other
component elements of their traditional costumes) interweaving these
descriptions with the popular legends, traditional festivals (such as 'Călușarii' & 'Junii Brașovului') of the area to which they belong to. All
the myths, stories, poems, songs or personal perspectives shared that evening
were full of warmth & genuine emotions, which warmed our hearts even more (to some bringing even a playful tear
into the corner of an eye), leading to a general state of peace & profound well-being, while bringing so much joy to our souls!
The evening ended with the famous Romanian song, called “Cu caciulile pe frunte” that our friend Teodor start singing for the group & then
we all joined in!
We all experienced such a special & uplifting sense of
unity…truly beautiful! Without
any doubt, a splendid evening well spent together with likeminded friends.
In winding up, given that people on this part of the world just celebrated
Father’s Day (few days ago), at this
time I’m sending along my very best regards to all fathers who are part of Alice & Friends Circle™ wishing
them good health, joy and happiness!
Until we meet again, best wishes to all for a pleasing summer!
Alice
It is very inspiring to observe how a tradition
gathers enough strength to go on for centuries.
This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture.
