Stories
Harvest celebration
Kindergarten · Harvest celebration
The kindergarten is crowded this morning, children run around excitedly. Some are already dressed in their costumes and proudly present themselves to the others - because today there is a festival here: "Szüreti mulatság". (translated "grape harvest festival").
When the grapes are ripe in Szeklerland, between August and October, the villages and towns celebrate it week after week.
A bit of history
In the past, the grandmothers were in charge to make the costumes.
A king and a queen were then chosen from the gipsy community and musicians were invited. They are the ones who, in the evening, will open the ball.
Once they have started dancing, other people can also dance. During the ball, grapes are hanging and can be stolen, but if you are seen, you have to give money.
You can find here a video of the ball in Siklod some years ago
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So normally, the whole town takes part in the event. But today we are invited to accompany the festivities in the kindergarten, which are oriented on the "real" festival.
10 a.m. The square in front of the building is decorated with straw, grapes and pumpkins. Parents stand all around and pull out the cameras. The door opens, and row after row the costumed little ones stream out, covered by white, red and black - and now music, please! An educator begins to play the accordion, accompanied by 2 violinists. Behind them, the dancers trifle, line up and present what they have prepared in the last weeks. Not always synchronous, but like the older ones as couples, the girls in dress, the boys with shirt and hat: So they turn, trudge forwards - backwards - to the side...
Beside the dancing, songs are recitated by children.
Here is a part of a recited song :
Ide jöttünk muzsikálni
Jó mulatságot csinálni
Aki minket nem állhat
Egye meg a búbánat
We came here to play music
To make a big celebration
Who doesn't like us
Gets eaten by the sadness
After half hour the dancing ends, grapes are handed around. Then dancers and musicians climb 2 horse carriages for the traditional parade. That day in the city, many people wait on their doorstep, to hear the trotting horses accompanied by music and singing children, signaling the passage of the carriage in front of their home. The parade cross the city and stop soon in front of a house where, against a dance performance, food and drinks have been prepared for the children.
5 minutes later, everybody climbs the carriage. We turn back home, but behind us the procession slowly starts moving again. So it goes on, to the next house.
Thanks to the kindergarten and children for allowing us to join the celebrations of this wonderful day.
More articles are coming, do not hesitate to come back and check them.
If this story sparked your interest towards finding out more about Rural Transylvania and possible ways to experience it, you are welcome to contact us.
· Youth Association from Transylvania at office.ata@gmail.com
· Farmers Association from the Cristuru Secuiesc Area at office.aacs@gmail.com
