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    Indulge in Lady's bedstraw of Maramures

    Photos from Romania

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    Of all the three girls, Patri is the one that can’t decide which boy she likes more. In the village there are 2 or 3 boys who she has set her mind on. However, she is also very proud and when it comes to meet the boys, she likes playing hard to get. Even though the girls spent all day waiting and hoping the Sanziene superstitions will come true, in the end it’s all about the excitement of the chase. In Poienile Izei village, the whole entertainment is about interaction and communication, as each tradition is a reason to get together. Views[450] The moment of the greatest intensity of the day is when the girls must throw their crowns on the roof of the house. It is said that if the crown stays on the roof, the girl will get married that year. If the crown falls down, it’s a sign of misfortune and bad luck for the people in that house. While throwing their crowns over the house the girls are laughing and joking, counting the successful actions and their failures. Each one has tried their powers for various times and they are keeping score – “I’ll have 3 husbands and I’ll get divorced 2 times”, Patri says, associating the falling of a crown to a divorce. Views[363] The elderly of the village say that if a girl sleeps with sanziene flowers under the pillow on Sanziene Eve night, she will dream her husband to be. Aurica is probably thinking about the boy she dreamed about the night before while admiring herself in the mirror. It is also said that these flowers bring wealth and fortune and that’s why they decorate their houses with them. Views[371] The girls must come back home with the flowers they picked up in the morning and braid crowns which they will proudly wear during the day as a symbol of purity and beauty. Here Patri is still braiding her crown, while the other two girls have already finished theirs and they are joyfully chatting about the boys they are about to meet. I couldn’t help but noticing their innocent enthusiasm and impatience. They are inside a typical house from Maramures owned by Patri’s uncle, who retired and went to a Monastery. Now the girls come here to play and act as if it is their own. Views[1126] A place I have visited is Poienile Izei, a not-so-very-accessible picturesque mountain region situated in Maramures, in the North of Romania, where traditions are better preserved than anywhere else in the country. I was there during the Sanziene celebration (Lady’s Bedstraw Day) on the 24th June. Sanzienele are local folklore good fairies that dance on the fields at night, giving plants magical powers. That’s why the little yellow flowers carry the same name. It is said that the young maidens of the village must pick these sanziene flowers early in the morning to be used later on that day, in some love related folk practices. Here is where I met Amalia, Patri and Aurica, 3 teenagers in their 12 to 14 in their journey from superstition and traditional makeover, to chit chat about meeting boys. As they always do on Sundays and at each celebration in the village, they have put on their traditional costumes, taking pride especially in their blouses, or ia, which used to be manually embroidered and sewn by mothers and daughters as a symbol of every girl’s pride and skills. Views[348]
     

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