Romania’s Sânziene festival is traditionally celebrated on June 24.
Sânziene combines Christian and pre-Christian seasonal traditions and is associated with the summer solstice period. The date coincides with the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist in the Romanian Orthodox calendar. The festival’s name also refers to the Sânziene fairies or feminine nature spirits of Romanian folklore.
A related custom involves women and girls weaving wreaths from yellow bedstraw flowers, often called sânziene, and wearing or throwing them. Rural traditions also connect the night with divination, fertility, healing plants, and dreams about marriage.
Sânziene is sometimes confused with the name of the flower itself. In Romanian usage, Sânziene can refer both to the festival and to the folkloric beings associated with it. The date is fixed, unlike the astronomical summer solstice, which can fall on June 20, 21, or 22 depending on the year and time zone.