Hello My Dear Frieds!

I've just realized that July is gone and I forgot to post The Celebrations for July according to our Folklore!

So, here it is! Hope you're enjoyng! :-)


The old name of July is "cuptor" (meaning "oven" in Romanian language). This is due to the high temperatures of this month, but also because now is the time when the crops are harvested.

The celebrations of this month are:

July 1st: Cosmandinul (Saints Cosma and Damian); Ana Foca July 8th: St. Pricopie; The celebration of the wolf July 15th: Ciurica July 16th-18th: The Summer "Circovi"; St. Marina (July 17th) July 20th: St. Ilie (Sanilie) July 21th: Ilie Palie July 22th: Foca July 27th: St. Ilie the Little; St. Pantelimon (Pintilie the Traveller)

July 1st: Cosmandinul (Saints Cosma and Damian); Ana Foca

Saints Cosma and Damian (the poor saint doctors) are the ones who protect the people from various illness.

Ana Foca celebration, name originated from combining the names of two Christian saints, Ana and Foca, is respected for fear of fire. Here fire means the heat of the sun, which destroys the crops, but also means lightnings and thunders.


July 8th: St. Pricopie; The celebration of the wolf

St. Pricopie plays a very important role for the crops, which he protects against the meteorological disasters. If the people don`t respect his celebration, St. Pricopie will send lightnings, thunders, hail or heat. Taking a wolf shape, he can also kidnap the children of those who worked during this celebration.

The peasants from the Apuseni Mountains (called "moti") believe that the ones who don`t respect St. Pricopie`s day will be taken away by two very powerful winds, called Harcodan and Dornados.


July 15th: Ciurica

The name of this celebration had also originated in composing the names of two saints, Chiriac and Iulita. Ciurica is a goddess who beats (in Romanian language: "ciuruie") the ones who work on her day.

In this day women have special powers and the right to command and even punish their husbands. Some of the men temporarily leave home, being afraid of their wives.

It is not recommended to argue or fight on this day, as you`ll continue doing it during the year. People also believe that who is beaten today will be beaten all year long.

Women don`t work, being afraid of the illness or of the wolves which eat the cattle.


July 16th-18th: The Summer "Circovi"; St. Marina (July 17th)

Brothers with the Winter Circovi, the Summer Circovi (also called Marina`s Circovi) are very dangerous gods. They send natural disasters or the wild animals to punish the people who don`t respect their celebration. Peasants also respect this day for fear of illness.

St. Marina is the patron of the dead children` souls. Especially pregnant women should respect her day, in order to give birth to healthy children. The herbs receive magical powers on this day. The mothers used to dole brooms made of wormwood, together with chicken, corn and flowers. St. Marina punishes very severely those who work on her celebration.


July 20th: St. Ilie (Sanilie)

St. Ilie, or, as the folk calendar names it, Sanilie, is one of the most important celebrations of the month of July.

In the middle of the summer, this day had been initially consacrated to a solar god. Later, a Christian celebration, the one of St. Ilie, superposed the pagan one. As the solar god, in the folk beliefs Santilie walks in a charriot with winged horses. He lights the sky with his lightings and fire arrows.



The folk tradition associates this saint with the rain. He is the patron of the clouds, of the lightings and thunders, which uses in order to kill the devils or when he`s mad at the people for having lost his coat.

Peasants tell that St. Ilie`s charriot has some nails on the wheels, in order not to slip from the sky. These nails pierce the sky and the water comes out on earth under the shape of the rain.

Other ancient beliefs tell that St. Ilie is the master of a very powerful being, called �sorb�, which drinks the waters or swallows frogs and dragons.

Grandmothers tell that this saint always waits anxiously his birthday, asking God when it will be. The Lord, knowing that St. Ilie will strongly whip of joy on his birthday, thus destroying the world, always tells him: "It will come, Ilie, it wil come...". After some days have passed, God tell the Saint that his birthday has already gone. Ilie gets mad and sends storms, thunders and lightnings on the earth: these are the storms "after St. Ilie".

As on all important celebrations, people shouldn`t work . As the apple is the fruit of the Saint, people take first the apples to church and only eat them afterwards. Feasts are organized in the mountains, the shepherds separate the sheep from the rams, medicinal herbs are gathered and spells are made in order to keep away the rain, hail, thunders and the others forces of nature that St. Ilie commands.


July 21th: Ilie Palie

This is the first day of the week of the Parlii. People say that the Parlii are the sisters of St. Ilie.

Ilie Palie would be the brother, father or even the coachman of St. Ilie. The celebration is also respected for fear of fire and illness.


July 22th: Foca

St. Foca is the one responsible for the fires and the heat which destroy the crops. People say that this celebration is so important that even the Turks respect it.


July 27th: St. Ilie the Little; St. Pantelimon (Pintilie the Traveller)

St. Ilie the Little (or the Lame man), also called St. Pantelimon or Pintilie the traveller, is the younger brother of St. Ilie. He asks his brother not to send the forces of nature upon the crops, thus punishing the people.

As almost all celebrations of the month of July, this day is especially respected for fear of illness, fires, hail and storms.

It is believed that this is the end of the summer and people begin to prepare for the autumn.


I very much hope you really enjoyed your jorney through JULY! (even if some of them are not too happy events!)

See you in August!
With friendship,
Anamaria :-)

Ana Marie,

These don't sound like very happy holidays.  Take care my Romanian friend and hope you made it through July without wolves lightening, etc. attacking you.

Apparently you did, as you made here to post all the holidays that you survived.

Seriously, this was interesting reading. In America, we are now entering the month that has no holidays for us. August is hot and boring with everything drying up. Soon the children go back to school so we spent a lot of time at the pool, lake, camping, and picnicing. Our last chance for vacation before we head back to the "rat race" (normal hectic routine).

Hey, AnaMaria,

Goddess Of Lores,

and things we often ignore.

With so many forced Holidays,

how on earth anyone has work that pays?

maxinvegas

hello AnneMaria

wow...It sounds like July is a great month for holidays. Have a good day.

Larry

Hello Mary!

Thank you for coming and posting your comments :-)
Aparently I've got over all of them LOL It was a log and HOT month.
Nothing about the wolves and others like that!

With friendship,
Anamaria