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The name of the month of June comes from the name of the goddess Iuno, the protector of married women. In popular tradition though, June is called „ciresar”, meaning „the month of the cherries”, because this is the time of the year when these fruits ripe.
Traditional June celebrations are:
* June 11th: Saint Vartolomeu
* June 12th: Saint Onufrie
* June 14th: Saint Eliseu
* June 19th: Saint Iuda
* June 24th: Sanzienele (Dragaica)
* June 29th: Saint Peter of the summer (The celebration of wolves)
* June 30th: The stones of Saint Peter
June 11th: Saint Vartolomeu
In the folk Romanian tradition, St. Vartolomeu, also called “the Vartolomeu of the wheat” is a mid summer celebration. From this moment on, the days become shorter and the summer begins to change into winter. Romanians say that the summer turns into winter. This verb (in Romanian: “a invarti”), where the name of the Saint Vartolomeu derives from, characterizes the entire celebration. Women must not spin and people generally must not work, as the danger of whirlwinds, storms or even dizziness exist.
June 12th: Saint Onufrie
St. Onufrie (or Onufrei) celebration is also considerated a mid summer day. Also called “the mice celebration”, is respected in order that the worms and mice should not eat the crops. It is believed that, if it rains, there won`t be any mice all year long. As St. Vartolomeu, St. Onufrei brings hail and storms.
June 14th: Saint Eliseu
Peasants celebrate St. Eliseu in order to obtain good crops. If they work, there`s the danger of hail.
June 19th: Saint Iuda
In the folk tradition, St. Iuda sustains one of the pillars on which the earth is placed. People believe that when St. Iuda will eat the pillar, the earth will fall and the world will be destroyed.
Some beliefs tell that Iuda is the brother of St. Ilie. For this reason, he also commands the storms and the hail.
June 24th: Sanzienele (Dragaica)
In the folk calendar, the Sanziene feast is a moment of the summer solstice, dominated by many magical beliefs and practices.
The sun has a maximum power on this day. After that, the cold and dark part of the year will come, when the time grows old, being related to the end. Remains of an old solar cult can be still observed in the peasants` beliefs. A lot of traditions are related to the image of the sun which, resting on the sky in the afternoon, has also evil powers. According to the old superstitions, people shouldn`t look directly to the sun, as they`ll go blind or they`ll have a headache for all the rest of the summer. Some people don`t want to wake up early in the morning, being afraid not the see three suns. But others say that if one wakes up early, he`ll see the sun at the East washing his face and the water flowing under the shape of the rays of light.
Very important for this day are the Sanziene or the Dragaica. Even if these are two different names of some similar goddesses (they are called Sanziene in Transylvania, Maramures, Banat, Oltenia and Bucovina and Dragaice in Muntenia, Oltenia and Moldavia), some different ideas can be noticed.
The Dragaice generally have positive meanings. In their name, as at Dragobete, the root which implies the word love (in Romanian: “dragoste”) is obvious. The Dragaice are agrarian goddesses of fertility, which protect the crops, the maids and the young women. They are also called “brides”, “queens of the wheat”, “mistresses of the sisters”. On their day, they float in the air, singing and dancing, enriching the crops, conferring healing powers to the herbs or predicting the husbands for the young girls.
On the other hand, the punishing functions dominate the beliefs related to the Sanziene. If their day is not respected, the Sanziene will provoke storms and will harm people. If one finds the place where the goddesses meet and dance, he`ll get ill and he`ll only recover if he goes back there the next year.
Many of the customs of this day are related to the girls and women. The girls gather flowers called sanziene and make wreathes. After they had worn them all day long, keep them for using during the year against various illness. Some of the herbs gathered on this day have also fertile power, being used by the women who can`t have children. According to the traditions in some regions, the girls and young women should roll over in the forest dew of this night, in order to be beautiful and loved.
The sanziene flowers, worn around the waist, or as wreathes, ensure the wedding with a handsome man. If the flowers are kept in the house and they don`t fade until morning, they will bring luck.
At the midnight, for some moments, the beasts` herb blooms. It is especially wanted by the thieves, who can use it for opening all the locks.
In the past, people organized Dragaica dances and fairs, which were a very good occasion for the young people to meet and for the marriages to be arranged.
June 29th: Saint Peter of the summer
(The celebration of wolves)
Saints Peter and Pavel stay on the moon, one on the right and the other on the left side. St. Peter is the keeper of the keys from the Heaven gate and rooms. He is also God`s right hand. Peter is the one who commands the hail and he is the patron of the farmers.
Saints Peter and Pavel celebration lasts for three days. A legend goes that once upon a time, while the saints walked on the earth, they entered a pub. A lot of people partied in there and they convinced the saints join them. After they had danced and partied, the two saints realized they didn`t like it and they decided to punish the people for having attracted them in their party. So the saints decided that people should fast on their day.
The glow-worms appear on St. Peter`s day. These are the sparks fallen on the earth after the saint whips. St. Peters send the glow-worms in order to guide the one who are lost in the woods.
The dead ones are remembered on this day, which is also celebrated for keeping the wolves away from the cattle.
June 30th: The stones of Saint Peter
In the popular calendar, the 30th of June is the second day of St. Peter`s celebration. People respect if for fear of wolves, thunders and hail.
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Thank you for your interest!
With friendship,
Anamaria
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