Chasing Away the Winter Spirit
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Falling between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, the day before the Easter fast used to be an occasion to celebrate the victory of light over darkness. Among the events organized in Brasov County marking this day there are: the Pancakes' Caravan - Fasching from Prejmer, the Children Masked Carnival from Teliu, the Masked Procession or the Noisy Crowd from Budila, Farsang from Ormenis, the Burning Wheel or the Calling over the village from Sinca Noua and other traditions preparing the coming of the Easter's Holiday.
Masked Celebrations
The ritual of time renewal includes practices for space purification, harmony and balance restoration. It is a spring ceremonial which precedes the beginning of the Easter fasting period. The Pancakes` Caravan - Fasching from Prejmer, the Children Masked Carnival from Teliu, the Masked Procession or the Noisy Crowd from Budila, Farsang from Ormenis have been taken over from the Hungarian and German communities. The young people used to wear different masks mainly parodying the weeding and engagement ceremonies. The masks represent animals (bear, wolf) and humans (doctor, priest, fortune teller, gipsy, broom, bride). The local young women help the men make the masks, adorn the animals (horses, donkeys) and the allegoric cart guiding the procession trough the village streets.
The Noisy Crowd
The procession makes a lot of noise intended to chase away bad spirits, malice, darkness and cold season, assimilated to temporary death of nature.
The purpose of the Pancakes' Caravan - Fasching from Prejmer is to promote the traditional Saxon cuisine and to involve the community in the preservation of traditions. This is the last time people eat pancakes before starting the fast. The young people prepare pancakes in an allegoric cart, wear masks and make a lot of noise to attract tourists and sell their products.
In Teliu, the children organize a carnival with allegoric characters such as the Tooth Fairy, the Doctor, the Wizard or the Wolf.
In Budila, people make straw mummies which are then burnt. This evokes of the times when time renewal demanded human sacrifice which was then burnt.
The Burning Wheel, an Evening Ceremonial
In Sinca Noua, before the beginning of the Easter fast, people celebrate the Burning Wheel ceremonial. People conduct a public judgment of those who did not respect the community's rules and address in a loud voice ironic words to the girls who are not yet married. The central element of this evening ceremonial is the burning wheel, which is a cart wheel, wrapped in straws, set on fire and rolled down the hill. The fire and the loud cries are meant to keep bad spirits at distance.
