Traditions and Customs in Brașov county

Unravelling of the lad bands (marked by the Parade of lad bands from Țara Făgăraşului – Făgăraş).

The meeting of the neighborhoods in the villages of the Rupea area.

The wheel on flames or the Shouting over the village is still kept in Șinca Nouă.

Fărşang - the Hungarian community in Apaţa, Ormeniş

The Pancakes Festival
Prior to Easter, the villagers from Prejmer commune organize the Pancakes Festival.
”Fasching” is a popular celebration marking the passage from winter to spring. Young people walk through the village, dressed in bridegroom and bride, priest, gypsies, scarecrows, going in front of a wagon in which there is a stove on which pancakes are prepared. On this occasion, the whole village is invited to the masquerade that is organized the same evening.

The shoting the rooster - on the Easter day, in Apaţa

It is a traditional custom of the Hungarian community in Ţara Bârsei. The ceremony takes place on the first day of the Catholic Easter in Apaţa commune. It is believed that the origin of the custom is related to a legend of the place, which states that in the 14th century, during a Tatar invasion, the population retreated to the fortress. The invaders devastated the village, but on their retreat they heard a rooster, thus discovering the villagers. The fortress was besieged, and the survivors decided to punish the rooster that betrayed them. Today, the participants in this custom are children, the purpose of the celebration being the initiation in the crossbow sighting and targeting (the place of the live rooster being taken by a drawn one). The feast ends with a meal and a party at the Cultural Community House.

The Plowman, in the villages of Fagaras Country.

”Junii” Feast from Şcheii Braşovului
It is a yearly tradition taking place on the Sunday after Easter, Tomii’s Sunday. More than a folklore show, the ”Junii” Feast is a show combining elements of myth, ceremony and magic. The seven ”juni” bands - the Young, the Elders, the Turkeys, the Dorobanti, the Braşovechenii, the Rosiorii and the Albiorii, ride their horses on the streets of Brasov in an impressive parade that attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year.

The Whitsuntide Feast at Feldioara.
The feast of birches at Cristian.

Midsummer’s Feast in Şirnea.

Wreath in Bunesti.
Kronenfest in Codlea.

Sântilia in Săcele

It is an ancient feast of the Săcelean shepherds, once connected with the celebration of the god of sun and fire. This custom takes place in the middle of the pastoral season on St. Elias (July 20).
Today, the feast takes place in a meadow known as Poiana Angelescu. This rustic party was closely related to the life and occupation of the Săcelean shepherds who traveled over vast territories with their flocks.
Over time, Sântilia has assimilated new functions, especially those related to product exchange and the meeting of young people for marriage.

The mace at Drăguş.

The rustic feast of the Mountains takes place in Fundata at the end of August. This event celebrates the return of the shepherds from the mountains, where they raised sheep and cattle during summer. They bring with them a large amount of cheese that they have prepared in the mountains, and the farmers are happy to do exchanges with them.

The scattering of the sheep in the Bran area villages and the National Festival of Cheese and smoked meat.

After they spent the whole summer in the mountains, the shepherds return to the village with their flocks, where the "scattering of the sheep" takes place. Although this custom has undergone countless changes over the years, its essence has been preserved; it remained a symbolic ceremony to mark the end of the pastoral year.

Sumedru’s fire in the Bran area villages

Sumedru's fire is a feast that takes place on the night of October 25-26 in several villages in the Bran area. With roots in the pre-Christian era, Sumedru's feast consists in simulating the death of an ancient divinity of nature by cutting a tree and burning it to create a resurrection on the night of October 25th. Ashes, hot coal and what remains of the funeral bush are taken by the villagers and used to fertilize gardens and orchards.

The gathering of the lad bands.

Raising the fir trees at Dumbrăviţa.