Exhibitions

"Spring on Harghita" commemorative plaques

The commemorative plaques chosen as the subject of the month of May are related to an event that during the communist years defined this month for many people in the area. The folklore festival ""Spring on Harghita", starting from 1967 to 1989, took place annually in Jigodin, an area surrounded by forests and belonging to the city of Miercurea-Ciuc. The commemorative plaques presented here were donated to the museum by Anna Kovács, the chief accountant of the former county cultural committee.

In communist Romania, the organization of national anniversaries and various state, economic and historical holidays was a central and ideologically important task. Thus, the so-called popular festivals could not be omitted.

In Harghita county, in May, several festivals were organized, such as the Szejke Festival in Odorheiu Secuiesc, the Magasbükk Festival in Gheorgheni or the Narcissus Festival in Vlăhița. The most significant for our county was the "Spring on Harghita" in Jigodin, organized at the county level and involving thousands of people. The festival took place every year on the outdoor stage in Jigodin, not by chance, on the Catholic Pentecost Sunday, being organized as a kind of counter-event to the Pentecost pilgrimage to Șumuleu Ciuc, thus trying to distract attention and interest from this Christian event with a centuries-old tradition, unofficial at the time, but which moved huge crowds.

On the occasion of the folklore festival in Jigodin, every year, the county leaders spoke in front of tens of thousands of people, but there were also various folklore programs supported by dance ensembles and choirs. Of course, the various food outlets were also an essential part of the festival, trying to serve the crowd with cheap beer and food typical of outdoor events.

According to press reports in 1988: "Preparations began months before: inviting the groups, preparing them, organizing the ceremony. Hospitallers organize, repair and clean the already famous stage place. In such cases, a dialogue takes place not only between art lovers and the general public, but also between the host county centre and the guests. The “Spring on Harghita” is a symbolic name. Due to the geographical location of the landscape between the mountains, spring always comes late, so we welcome it with great joy. The mainstream cultural movement also has a spring feel to it. This event opens the series of large-scale festivals, organized outdoors, followed by similar celebrations in all the cities and some villages of the county". (Week 1988.)

"This is, without a doubt, the most prestigious of the events in Harghita county organized under the auspices of the national festival "Singing Romania". This year's meeting surpassed last year's in many ways: it turned into a beautiful and meaningful celebration of regional folklore. […] The popular ports of the formations from the Mureș, Olt, Târnavele, Homorod, Buchin and Trotuș regions were extraordinary, both in terms of their colours and their purity. And they stood out very well in the nearly seven-hour show presented on the outdoor stage in Jigodin." (Week 1989.)

The Hungarian magazine Táncművészt (Art of Dance) reports on the last Jigodin festival in a more nuanced way: "This year, on Pentecost Sunday - now for the twenty-fourth time - the most significant annual parade of Szekler folk dance ensembles, entitled “Spring on Harghita''. However, a lot of sadness is mixed in our little joy. After all, we know very well that this festival is deliberately organized by Pentecost, so the official bodies try to divert attention from the centuries-old pilgrimage nearby, Şumuleu Ciuc, which moves huge Hungarian crowd... The approach is not very successful, because tens of thousands of people have been making pilgrimages not only to Jigodin, the site of the folk-dance festival, but also to Şumuleu for more than two decades, and this also happened in May of this year. Of course, from a political point of view there were some smaller changes, but worth noting, such as the fact that this time the presentation of the bands was not held in Hungarian, but in Romanian, although for the most part, they were mostly Hungarian. At the same time, the life-size portrait of the president disappeared from the stage. I mention that no one missed it, neither the spectators nor the bands that performed. Another striking phenomenon already in the previous years: the number of Romanian ensembles performing is increasing, while the number of Szekler bands is decreasing in almost direct proportion. Of course, this is understandable under the known political circumstances." (The Art of Dance 1989/7)

Nevertheless, the festival provided a lasting experience to many residents of the city, as is also evident from the account of a former participant who experienced it as a child: "Although, because of the emotions, I had difficulty sleeping in the evening, the next morning I woke up early. At seven in the morning the family started packing: in the backpacks the cauldron, the tin plates, the wooden bottom, knives, forks, wooden spoon, while in the basket a piece of meat kept for this purpose, potatoes, and onions. We will make goulash in the cauldron, a common thing, by the way, on every Sunday trip. But this day is different! There will be “mici”, sausages and grills! And soft drinks, candied sugar, cotton candy! Simi ball! Beer for adults. Beer makes adults happier and more serene.

We are going by foot, with a large group and many children. We go wave with the crowd, most of those from Ciuc will be there, at Jigodin. Some because they like it and want to, others because it is mandatory.

The smoke from the grills can also be seen from the road, rising promisingly above the forest on the hillside. It seems like the "perfume" of the grills can be felt even from a distance. We quicken our steps, we hurry to our perfect place where we used to sit every year, on our plaid blankets, by the stone fireplace, set up from years past. From here we have a good view of the stage and everything is heard well from the speakers.

I also participate to the program: first with the school choir, then I perform a beautiful Romanian folk ballad, and after the ideological performances are over, we will delight the audience with a modern dance. I am excited and feel privileged. Being a child, I don't feel forced or pressured, I'm happy to participate and my parents and family will be proud of me! I just hope that by the time the spectacles are over, neither the cotton candy nor the soft drinks run out. And I want to take home a Simi ball, because my little brother unwrapped last year's and filled our room with sawdust. "Spring on Harghita" is very alike. Beautiful, colourful, but inside, maybe it's just sawdust... And even so, we were looking forward to it and we really needed it!"

Year

2024

Month

May

Type

History