Traditions in the Medias area

One of the things that our country stands for is diversity. From the diversity of natural landscapes, to cultural and ethnic diversity, this stands out thorough customs and traditions that differ from region to region. The area of Medias, with its surroundings, is no exception, as there are some beautiful traditions that have been preserved for centuries and are testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the place.

Maial
the celebration of spring

An old Saxon tradition is to celebrate the spring season with a large outdoor party, attended by all members of the local community. This celebration takes place annually at the beginning of May, hence the name “Maial”. It was organized in most localities where there were large Saxon populations, including in Medias. In recent years, this tradition has been revived, and the maial is celebrated each year around May 1 with a great outdoor party, where folk songs and dances are part of the celebration.

Easter traditions
splashing the girls

In some regions of Transylvania, this tradition of girls’ splashing has been preserved on the second Easter day. It is an old custom taken from Saxons and Hungarians, preserved even in nobility families until the end of the 19th century, and then it became a tradition more common in rural areas. Splashing is practiced in the villages around Medias, but even in the city, young men and young boys go splashing to the houses of relatives and closest friends. Originally, married women and girls were splashed with fresh spring water, so that they are beautiful and smell like spring flowers all year long. Over time, water has been replaced with more or less expensive perfumes. Girls and women await their splashers with red eggs, cakes and pastries. The first to go splashing on the morning of the second day of Easter are the children, and the adults usually start going from house to house in the evening.

Christmas Traditions
walking with the Christmas star

In the village of Curciu in Darlos commune, traditions on the occasion of the winter holidays start from the morning of the Christmas Eve day. The children in the village start walking with the Christmas star at the priest’s house, where they receive his blessing, and then they go caroling to all the households in the village. The evening before, the boys go through the village to collect ivy, and then they gather to the house of one of them, where the Christmas star that has been inherited from generation to generation is brought.

The Prisitini Ball from Ighisu Nou

A beautiful tradition is preserved in the village belonging to Medias, Ighisu Nou. For more than 60 years, it is customary for the second Christmas Day, on the night of 26 to 27 December that the Pristini Ball takes place.Starting with the age of 14, unmarried boys gather each year at the local cultural center, where they choose the two leaders of the group of carolers called “pristini”. This event takes place on December 6; this being the time when the carolers begin to rehearse the Christmas carols that they will sing. On Christmas Eve, the carolers, led by the two pristini, gather together at the priest’s house, which gives them the blessing, and then they are divided into two groups that go caroling throughout the whole village. The pristini also choose two girls, who must be over the age of 14, to dance with at the ball. In all three days of Christmas, the pristini wear astrakhan hats, and the girls that are their partners wear a white flower in their hair. In the night of the ball, at the cultural center, the unmarried girls and the boys who have been caroling form two semicircles. The two pristini open the dance together with their partners. Then the girls dance with the first two boys in the semicircle, and the pristini dance with the first two girls in the girls’ semicircle. This rule is maintained until all the girls have been invited to dance. The moment of the waltz that is danced at midnight is not missing from the ball.