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Sânzienele |
Sânziană are the gentle Romanian Summer fairies
Sânziană (also known as Dragaica) plays an important part in local folklore, also used to designate the lady's bedstraw or crossword flowers..
Sânziene,the name comes from the Latin Sancta Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and moon, also celebrated in Roman Dacia Diana was known to be the virgin goddess and looked after virgins and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses, Diana, Minerva and Vesta, who swore never to marry.
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Sânzienele |
The Sânziene holiday annually celebrated in the western Carpathian Mountains on June 24. This is believed to be a pagan celebration of the summer solstice in June.
According to Romanian Orthodox Church, the customs actually relate to the celebration of Saint John the Baptist's Nativity, which also happens on June 24.
Dragaica is the fairy that leads the Sânziene
According to the legend, the unmarried girls put Lady's bedstraw flowers under their pillow and asking Sanziene to help them dreaming their true soul mate.
According to legend Sânziene were considered to be some beautiful women living in the woods or fields not yet discovered by men.
The legend says Sânziene float in the air or walk on the ground on the night of June 23 to June 24, dancing and singing. The skies open on this magical night and miracles can happen
Sânziene are believed to be good fairies. However, if they are not respected they can turn into bad fairies and they can start storms and bring hail, leaving the field without crops and the flowers without cure.
On the night of 23-24th June, men shouldn’t go walking in the forest because even if Sanzienele are good faeries they don t like to be seen dancing and they will punish any men who sees them dancing.
In the morning women should collect Sânziene flowers, the young women should make crowns from Sânziene flowers and throw it on the roof of their house by this way they will know if they will get married or not by next year.
If the crown stays on the roof it means they will get married by next summer, if not, they will throw the crown again until it stays on the roof, each throw counts a year, the more they try the more they wait.
Elderly ladies makes belt from the Sânziene flowers and wrap it around their backs so they won t get back pains all the year.
Women also get the little water drops that are in the morning on flowers so they can use it on difren’t spells, mostly love spells.
According to legend it's said that in the night of Sânzienele, the doors between the death world and this world are open, people are giving food for the dead ones souls on this day and put flowers at the tombs of the loved ones that passed away.