Although most media coverage last weekend was given over to a rather different kind of parade, the greatest event was undoubtedly the traditional celebration called the “The Day of a thousand Szekler Girls” held on the central square of Csíkszereda, which was once a mainly Hungarian populated town in Transylvania, Western Romania.

MTI, the main Hungarian news agency, through its on-line source, 777blog.hu presented a spectacular event which we now publish and in so doing, echo the enthusiasm generated by the event. 

A képre kattintva galéria nyílik!

The Day of a Thousand Szekler Girls is an annually organized major event which strives to preserve the traditions of Szekler (Székely) folk costumes, folk dance and folk music. It is held in Csíkszereda, usually on the first Saturday of July. The yearly meeting offers an opportunity to present, preserve and promote the values of Szekler folk culture with it’s traditional costumes and folk art, thereby enhancing and reviving national self-identity. The main slogan of the meeting truly reflects these aims; it also embodies the prime aspiration of the organisers:

What we want is youth — strong in faith, morally pure and solidly grounded in their own identity!

The event is characterised through a celebration of dance, prayer and folk costumes. This reflects a conscious desire to strengthen the two pillars of our identity: Faith and Tradition. And when over a thousand young people don their national costumes, the power of a community influences the individual. This is and has always been the basis for the survival of the Szekler in Transylvania.