Harman, genuine traditions
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In the village of Harman, Brasov county, old customs and traditions are still sacredly preserved. After the end of the winter holidays, the most important events are related to spring arrival and to Easter preparations: Shrove Tuesday, spring cleaning and waiting for the most important Orthodox celebration ? the Resurrection. Besides the main tourism attractions, those who want to visit Harman can also see the village life in "Vatra Harmanului" Museum live, starting with the way the rooms are arranged and ending with the cultural inheritance.
Dragobete (Lovers? Day in Romania)
The first feast before Shrove Tuesday is Dragobete, considered in the Romanian mythology, as a young God, protector of love and good spirits, celebrated in February 24th. People say about Dragobete that he was one of Baba Dochia?s sons, assimilated to a handsome and loving lad wandering about the woods.
"The Town Hall invests in the preservation of customs and traditions and supports the young generation, with the purpose of carrying along the invaluable treasure. On the occasion of Dragobete, the girls in the elementary school made bouquets from green willow branches they have bundled with coloured wool and offered to the boys they like, as people used to do in the old times in the villages." declared Mihai Disor, the Mayor of village Harman.
Hundreds of decorated eggs
In "Vatra Harmanului" Museum, in the decorated eggs exhibition one can find hundreds of eggs, with models chosen from the old times. All the eggs have been painted by children and young people who have learned the egg decorating craft. The frequent presence of the egg, especially of the coloured egg in the antique ceremonies of time renovation relies on their cosmogony concepts by comparing the Universe with the life-generating egg. The whole nature triumphantly revives through Jesus Resurrection. After millennia of evolution, the Romanians decorate and paint Easter eggs red and convey the message of Jesus Christ through the decorated images.
Egg decorating technique
The egg decorating technique or the painting technique is the traditional one. In order to last more, the eggs are content emptied. The model is chosen depending on the egg size, and after drying, it is being painted with wax motifs. The egg is put on a heated stove in order to melt the wax the models have been drawn with. In the beginning, the eggs used to be painted with plants for yellow, the colour of the sun in the sky and for red, the colour of the solar disk for sunrise and sunset. Today the main colours are red, yellow, white on black. Further, they were decorated with Christ face, with geometric motifs specific to the Romanian popular art, observing symmetry and alternation.
