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In the border town of Vișeu de Sus, Maramureș county, elements of pre-Christian mythology are preserved and eloquently depicted by the Sânziene midsummer celebration on June 23 and 24, at the balance between spring and summer, under the auspices of the Sun, Fire and Water. During this magical time, the white sânziene flowers, in their peak flowering period, take on apotropaic qualities. Braided in wreaths in the evening, similar to the shape of the sun, they have a foreboding power after midnight when they are thrown over the house, and in combination with water, they are used in premarital magic. These flowers are associated with good fairies called Sânziene. Mystical creatures, the Sânzienele ripen the fields for harvest, ask for rain for people, and help girls get married. In shady places, sânziene flowers look like flames. Against the evil fairies and evil entities in general flaming torches are spun around after sunset. Fire twirled around the body of girls and boys, and jumping over the fire three times purifies and attracts good luck in marriage. The torches carrying the sacred fire, placed in cultures, protect and enrich them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The culture of the Romanians living in Homolje and, more widely in Timoc, is the most archaic aspect of spirituality, not only within the Balkan Peninsula but across our continent. One of the numerous valuable objects ofour people's ethnological treasure is the mythology and ancient customs, which date from a long time before Christianity, but which have survived until the present, until the beginning of the 21th century, in the villages that settled in the heart of the mountains of Homolje. Researching the Romanian traditional culture in northeastern Serbia, we find a unique tendency of this population towards characters of mystical property, which, in their system of popular religion, have the role of the mediator between the villagers as a religious community and a sacred world, a world of fairies, divine and mythical beings and ancestral souls. The central theme of this paper are mythical being fairies, as a cause of exaltation, while the phenomenon of the trance in „falling” women is only one part related to it, necessary in the attempt to complete the mosaic, which will help us to at least clarify the religious rituals anf beliefs of the Romanians in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Covasna - Cetatea Zânelor (Fairies Fortress), 97 Dacian whetstones were found. Most likely, the whetstones were used to sharpen metal objects. However, the metal objects discovered in the site are just a few that leaves open the possibility of using these whetstones for other purposes as well. Some of the whetstones can be associated with two edifices with the roof sustained by three rows of wooden pillars that could be interpreted as temples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]