The Feast Days of Halchiu
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The village of Hălchiu, situated at 4 kilometres distance from the European Highway connecting Brasov to Sighisoara, has remained a hospitable place for those who want to meet native Romanian, Hungarian and German people and their ancient customs and traditions. To promote them, the City Hall and the Local Council of Halchiu have allotted important funds both for the folk group ?Chestnut Flower? and for cultural establishments. Nowadays the town perfectly combines the old Saxon customs with the Romanian and Hungarian ones, as they exchanged cultural elements. You can notice this during the folk parades at the attendants accompanied by the brass band.
The Open Gates Day
?Each year we organise several cultural events related not only to religious holidays, but also to the Feast Days of Halchiu, event which celebrates many local customs. These include contests like: the Best Householder, the Best Animals Caretaker or the Best Citizens of the Village. Some Saxons who left and settled in Germany also take part in these events. Special events like the Saxon gastronomy, German dances and songs are being organised for them. The Saxons, the Romanians and the Hungarians dress in folk costumes and make an unforgettable party together. Some Saxons come especially to spend their Christmas Holiday here, go to church and have their Christmas dinner with their few relatives who remained here,? says the Mayor of Halchiu, Mr. Ioan Garbacea.
The Autumn Fair
The Autumn Fair is organised to celebrate the ?Feast Days of Halchiu?, event which gathers the entire population of the town, on a piece of land surrounded by chestnut trees. As a matter of fact, the local folk group took their name after the flower of this tree. This group is relatively made up of young people, but the folk customs and traditions, the songs and dances have been passed to next generations by the elder population. To make them known, the folk group ?Chestnut Flower? has participated in different events in Romania and abroad.
At the autumn fair on the Feast Days of Halchiu, people could enjoy an exceptional show, buy products and food of animal origin from the stands and watch the award ceremony for the best bovine, equine and ovine breeder. The children from the kindergarten in Halchiu and the Middle School pupils organised a show dedicated to the autumn.
Leaving the passing year behind
The idea of the autumn fair is that all the earth?s fruits are now collected and the fields are now prepared for the fall and spring sowing. People say that the seed planted when necessary eagerly waits for the first snow to come and the sap helps it germinate. At the same time, the Christmas fasting period begins and people prepare to purify their bodies and souls. This way the man and nature are creating a perfect environment together to wait for the most important Christian holiday, the Christ?s Birth, giving rise to the Christmas holidays.
