Farsang

The Şumuleu Ciuc/Csíksomlyó Pentecost pilgrimage began in 1567, a vow of pilgrimage of szeklers for the protection of their Catholic faith, which has become the most significant pilgrimage of Hungarians since 1990. According to the chronicles, the first pilgrimage to Şumuleu Ciuc/Csíksomlyó, with the leadership of priest István, was started from Joseni/Gyergyóalfalu more than 450 years ago. According to the records, Monarch János Zsigmond wanted to force the population of Csík County to change to the Unitarian religion and sent an army to capture the captain of the Csík castle. The priest from that time, István priest, gathered the people of Joseni/Gyergyóalfalu and its surroundings and went to Şumuleu Ciuc/Csíksomlyó to confront the ruler’s army, but eventually the battle did not take place, because the leaders of the army realized that the internecine war was meaningless. The peaceful retreat of the ruler’s army is considered as a miracle of Mary, thus priest István promised that he will lead the pilgrimage for the people of Joseni/Gyergyó to Şumuleu Ciuc /Csíksomlyó on Saturdays at every Pentecost. The significance of „pilgrimage branch” can be traced back to the same story, which is collected by the pilgrims of Şumuleu Ciuc/Csíksomlyó. When the army of the monarch retreated, they sent a messenger to the church in Gyergyóalfalu, where the woman, the children and the elders remained to pray. The messenger signaled with a white branch in his hand that the danger has passed. Cover photo: www.facebook.com/magasbolszekelyfold Photo: Iochom Zsolt

The pig is usually slaughtered on Christmas Eve or in the frosty days of January, this activity becoming the most popular traditional event. For the city folks, it is a tourist attraction and a possibility to cultivate folk traditions. The event consists in slaughtering the pig raised around the farmer's house, processing the meat, and attending the traditional dinner - where different types of sausages (caltaboși, sângerete, cârnați), stew and soup prepared with pickled cabbage are served. The pig slaughtering begins in the morning with a quick drink, then the fire is lit in the hearth and the water is boiled. The actual work starts with stabbing the pig, where the protagonist is the butcher, who has a special knife to commit the "murder." The aids try to hold the agitated animal. The blood is collected in a saucepan, since it will be the raw material for “sângerete”. Afterwards, the pig is placed in a tube, where the hair is removed by scalding. First, the pig is sprinkled with resin (this makes the hairs stick to each other). Then, the animal's hair is removed with a special tool, by rubbing the pig's skin. After the hair is removed, the pig is burned with straw bundles. After the pig's skin browned beautifully, it is washed and cleaned thoroughly. After another round of drinks and best wishes for the health of those present, the pig is lifted on a table to be cut into pieces. The butcher cuts the hams, removes the intestines, the guts, the pig's head and the lard. The ribs are cut with a hatchet in three equal parts, making sure that the meat is not completely removed, but holds the ribs together, which are then salted and smoked. The bacon is cut in desired sizes, salted and smoked. Processing the scapula is done in two ways: after removing the bone, it is either cut off as ham, or used to prepare the sausages. The ham will be smoked. The intestines are cleaned and readied for the sausage preparation (caltaboși, sângerete, cârnați). After cleaning the skin pieces, some of the skin goes to boil and will be the basic material for “sângerete” and ”tobă” (which is a kind of sausage made from swine’s entrails). The sausages will be made from square bacon pieces without rind, and small pieces of meat. Another part of the bacon will be cut into squares, from which, after melting, a white and tasty pig lard is obtained. Entrails - liver, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, tongue - are cooked in 95 ° C water. Boiled meat, cooked rice and the blood of the animal collected at slaughtering are added to the mix. Everything is chopped and stuffed in the intestines, to obtain the “sângerete” and “caltaboș”. Seasoning is done to the taste of each farmer. The unused bits of meat, along with gristle are boiled, to form the stuff for ”tobă”. The sausages are made from minced raw meat, seasoned with paprika, pepper and garlic. The sausages, the bacon, the ham, the ”caltaboși” and ”toba” are smoked. Thus, these products prepared by salting, brining, boiling and smoking are preserved for more than half a year, either in the pantry or in the attic of the house. For details regarding the cost and other details, please call the host of the program at the following phone numbers: Ivó/Izvoare – Botházi András: +40741232744 Tusnádfürdő/Băile Tușnad: +40749066008 Szentegyháza/Vlăhița: +40744680753 Borszék/Borsec: 0266337001 Csíkrákos/Racu: +40745180649 Gyergyócsomafalva/Ciumani: +40746337722

Vlăhiţa Children's Philharmonic consists of 140 children, of which 100 sing in the choir and 40 are musicians. The music teacher Haáz Sándor established the band in 1982, and is currently leading the Philharmonic. The repertoire is composed of short classical pieces, Hungarian folk or other nations’ songs - accompanied by symphonic orchestra. They often perform in Transylvanian towns, and since 1990 they have concerts abroad in each summer holiday. Gábor Áron community center is also the headquarters of the philharmonic’s foundation. The same building hosts an ethnographic museum of the locality.

Corund fanfare has a tradition of over a century, being brought back to life in 1990 by Szász János, and later by the current fanfare leader, Molnár Andor, a music teacher in Corund, who is in charge of preparing students. The fanfare is present at any event organized in the commune. There is an annual fanfare festival, attended by guests from around the commune, the county, and even from abroad, thanks to the collaboration with the Makó and Kiskunfélegyháza towns in Hungary, which have important music schools. Source: http://www.zi-de-zi.ro

The grape festival or harvest festival is a well-known tradition in all the Transylvanian regions, and is organized around harvest and grape processing in September-October. On the day of the event, young pairs dressed in folk clothes go through several localities around to invite the people to the festival. The young often go on horses, and the landladies serve them cakes. The ball is opened with a thundering dance offered by young people called "csősz" - the organizers of the ball. They have to be careful and guard the grapes, which decorate the ballroom, after the guests are allowed to “steal” them. Each year the queen and king of the ball are chosen, who guard the grapes and blow a whistle when they catch a thief in action. The "thief" caught is obliged to pay a symbolic sum in exchange for the grapes. The party continues until the morning, with dancing and singing, raffles, games and the auction of the "grape crown", which is made from a giant grape cluster, in the middle of which is placed a bottle of the best wine of the community. Buying the grape crown is a symbolic gesture that also determines a social status. Usually, the grapes and the wine are shared with the community at the festival. sources: https://szekelyhon.ro/faluszerte/atalakult-szureti-mulatsag https://portal2.e-serviciihr.ro/LUETA/Home https://www.facebook.com/events/1625877127523456/

The day of the Thousand Szekler Girls, organized on the first Saturday of July in Miercurea Ciuc, is a celebration of music, dance and the popular Szekler clothes, which offers an opportunity to present, preserve and popularize the values of the Szekler folk art and garments. The first edition of the festival was organized in 1931. The tradition was revived in 1990, keeping its original goal of preserving folk traditions. The event begins with a parade of the traditional costumes. Girls and boys dressed in traditional clothes march to the city center, dancing on folk music. The program continues on the ridge that links the two hills of Şumuleu, where, after a religious service, the folk groups gathered from all the corners of the Szeklerland are introduced to the public. Immediately after that, starts a true feast of the folk clothes, dance and songs.

Maundy Thursday is the day of the betrayal and murder of Jesus. In memory of these events, in ​​Ciucul de Sus (Mădăraș village) the Lord's Supper is held by cooking and praying collectively. Good Friday is the day of watching the holy body. In the villages of Ciuc area (Sântimbru-Ciuc, Sâncrăieni, Sândominic) and Gheorgheni area (Joseni), unmarried boys, dressed in folk garments and armed with wooden guns, watch the inanimate body of Jesus, starting from the Great Friday to the Resurrection. Another tradition preserved today, not only in the Szekler villages, but also in the city, is that of sprinkling the girls - an event that takes place on the second Easter day. The men and boys start their day by going together to "sprinkle" the girls. Seated in a wagon well decorated with fir branches, the boy enters each yard and sprinkles the girls and women with clean water, and saying various incantations. Sources: www.cimec.ro

From the first day of Christmas to the Epiphany, the children walk with the "Star", and the older ones with "The Deer" with their antlers adorned with bells and tassels, clattering from their teeth and turning around to cheer their hosts. These are hundred years old customs, still kept by the Romanians from northern Harghita County and the Csangos in the Ghimes Valley, the cheerful and noisy groups of carol singers giving charm to the winter holidays. During Christmas, two customs stand out in the Hungarian community traditions: "Bethlehem" and "Az aprószentek" or "Whipping the girls". "Bethlehem" presents the birth of Jesus Christ. The model of a Catholic church, made of cardboard or light boards and symbolizing the city where the Savior was born, is carried away from house to house, and the carol singers dressed as Joseph and Mary, shepherds and the Three Magi from the East, recall the biblical story. "Az aprószentek" is a tradition for young people before marriage. Groups of boys dressed in holiday clothes visit the girls' houses with a birch rod decorated with colorful ribbons, predominantly red - because the custom is about passion and love. Here, they recite ritual texts and wishes. Source: https://www.mediafax.ro/