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Link copied! The Sanziene Fair
Date and time
19 June - 21 June 2026, 10:00 - 18:00
Location
Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român, Şoseaua Pavel D. Kiseleff 3, București, RomaniaAbout
The National Museum of the Romanian Peasant awaits you from Friday, June 19, to Sunday, June 21, 2026, from 10 am to 6 pm, at the Sânziene Fair.
In popular tradition, the Sânziene are considered magical, benevolent creatures, associated with fertility, love, healing and the protection of nature. Starting from this rich imagination, the fair brings together approximately 50 folk craftsmen, antique dealers and artists who will exhibit and sell traditional objects, handicrafts and old pieces from the peasant household. You will have the opportunity to admire and bargain for a lot of beautiful things, crafted with care and loaded with signs and meanings: icons, wooden objects, ceramics, fabrics, toys, ornaments and much more.
During the three days of the event, invited craftsmen, woodworkers, leatherworkers, ceramists, iconographers, weavers, will give demonstrations and tell stories about their craft to all those interested.
There will also be specific gastronomic products: honey, homemade cakes, teas, gingerbread, palinca and țuică.
By organizing this event, the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant aims to promote authentic cultural values, revitalize traditional crafts and support small Romanian producers and creators.
Admission is free.
Event organizer: National Museum of the Romanian Peasant / coordinators: Oana Constantin and Simona Hobincu (Museum Education Section)
***
June 24 is another celebration composed of layers. Depending on the area, one or another of the figures has the main role. In Bucovina, for example, Saint John of Summer enjoys a special status, being identified with Saint John the New, whose relics are in Suceava. People go there on pilgrimage.
In other places, the “weight” of the holiday is given by the relationship with the Sânzienele, good fairies who fly through the air at night. Especially on the night leading up to their celebration, they are very generous: they give luck for the harvest, for health. They only become bad if people upset them.
On Sânziene, girls pick white or yellow flowers called sânziene and weave wreaths and belts from them. The belts are worn during the day, and in the evening they are left to dry for medicines and cosmetics. The wreaths are placed on the house, each member of the family has their own wreath. Depending on how they dry, are carried by the wind or fall, the wreaths announce who will have luck next year, who will get married, who will die.
On Sânziene, medicinal plants are collected. Until Pentecost, the plants were not good, they were pinched by the Iele. Now they are collected for all kinds of diseases, all kinds of spells. On this night, you can more easily find the herb of the beasts that unlocks locks. On Sânziene, it is forbidden to bathe.
In other places in the country, the holiday is called Drăgaică. Several beautiful girls become Drăgaici. One of them dresses as a bride. She has special powers, she gives grain to the wheat, fragrance to the flowers... After being the Bride-Drăgaică, the girl cannot marry for three years.
Irina Nicolau – Guide to Romanian Holidays (Humanitas, 1998)
source
In popular tradition, the Sânziene are considered magical, benevolent creatures, associated with fertility, love, healing and the protection of nature. Starting from this rich imagination, the fair brings together approximately 50 folk craftsmen, antique dealers and artists who will exhibit and sell traditional objects, handicrafts and old pieces from the peasant household. You will have the opportunity to admire and bargain for a lot of beautiful things, crafted with care and loaded with signs and meanings: icons, wooden objects, ceramics, fabrics, toys, ornaments and much more.
During the three days of the event, invited craftsmen, woodworkers, leatherworkers, ceramists, iconographers, weavers, will give demonstrations and tell stories about their craft to all those interested.
There will also be specific gastronomic products: honey, homemade cakes, teas, gingerbread, palinca and țuică.
By organizing this event, the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant aims to promote authentic cultural values, revitalize traditional crafts and support small Romanian producers and creators.
Admission is free.
Event organizer: National Museum of the Romanian Peasant / coordinators: Oana Constantin and Simona Hobincu (Museum Education Section)
***
June 24 is another celebration composed of layers. Depending on the area, one or another of the figures has the main role. In Bucovina, for example, Saint John of Summer enjoys a special status, being identified with Saint John the New, whose relics are in Suceava. People go there on pilgrimage.
In other places, the “weight” of the holiday is given by the relationship with the Sânzienele, good fairies who fly through the air at night. Especially on the night leading up to their celebration, they are very generous: they give luck for the harvest, for health. They only become bad if people upset them.
On Sânziene, girls pick white or yellow flowers called sânziene and weave wreaths and belts from them. The belts are worn during the day, and in the evening they are left to dry for medicines and cosmetics. The wreaths are placed on the house, each member of the family has their own wreath. Depending on how they dry, are carried by the wind or fall, the wreaths announce who will have luck next year, who will get married, who will die.
On Sânziene, medicinal plants are collected. Until Pentecost, the plants were not good, they were pinched by the Iele. Now they are collected for all kinds of diseases, all kinds of spells. On this night, you can more easily find the herb of the beasts that unlocks locks. On Sânziene, it is forbidden to bathe.
In other places in the country, the holiday is called Drăgaică. Several beautiful girls become Drăgaici. One of them dresses as a bride. She has special powers, she gives grain to the wheat, fragrance to the flowers... After being the Bride-Drăgaică, the girl cannot marry for three years.
Irina Nicolau – Guide to Romanian Holidays (Humanitas, 1998)
source
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