Dita e Verës

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Celebrants on March 14th at Lezha Castle

The Dita e Verës or Summer's Day (sometimes also incorrectly called Spring Day ) is a spring festival in Albania that is celebrated on March 14th every year . Summer's day has been a national holiday since 2004 . The festival has its origins in central Albania around Elbasan . But it is celebrated in other areas like this or in a similar way, for example in the regions around Gjirokastra , Përmet and Maliq (Opar) as well as in the Albanian west of North Macedonia .

The festival has pagan roots. According to the Julian calendar, the date was March 1st, the original beginning of spring. The legend of the origin refers to a temple of the fairy of Çermenika east of Elbasan.

The Dita e Verës is a celebration of joy. In Elbasan and Tirana in particular, a folk festival is celebrated on the streets. Songs, dances and rites are traditionally part of this festival day.

There are four phases, of which preparation is the first: Usually cleaning the house, new or freshened clothes and decorating the house belong to it. The second phase is the evening before: like a winter burn , large fires are lit. There is dancing around the fire and some jumping over it. The summer day and the third phase traditionally start early with a wash. In some places the young people moved early. People meet on the streets to enjoy the fresh green and fresh air. Visits to relatives and friends, sometimes with lunch, are also common. The fourth phase is an excursion into nature outside the village or in parks where people meet to play, sing, dance and picnic.

Elbasan Ballokumja

The symbols of the summer day are the sweet Elbasan pastries ballokumja and the red and white collar called verorja , which is worn by young people.

Other spring festivals in Albania include the Christian celebrations of Easter , the Annunciation , Lazarus Day and Carnival , the Bektashi festival in Nevruz and some other local festivals. In Dibra , the summer day is traditionally celebrated as early as the end of February: here the children wander through the villages early in the morning until a fire is kindled on March 13th. Summer festivities are also recorded for many other villages and regions from Tropoja to Korça .

With the introduction as a national holiday, the heavily criticized Prime Minister Fatos Nano is said to have tried in 2004 to become more popular with the people again. In the elections the following year , however, the opposition won.

Walkers in a park in the city center of Tirana on Dita e Verës

A well-known description of the summer day comes from Faik Konica , an intellectual who campaigned for Albanian independence:

«Miqve, shokëve të Lidhjes Shqipëtare" Verore ", u dërgoj kujtime miqësie, urime të zemrës, për Ditën e Verës që na afrohet. S'e festuam dot sivjet këtë ditë të bukur: po në mos e festuam me trup, do ta festojmë me zemër.

Ç'është Dita e Verës? Është dita në të cilën shtërgjyshërit t'anë, kur s'kish lindur edhe krishtërimi, kremtojin bashkë me Romanët dhe me Grekët e Vjetër, perëndit 'e luleve, të shelgjeve, të krojeve. Kur çkrin dimëri, kur qaset Vera buzëqeshur e hollë dhe e gjatë si në piktyrë të Botticelli, zemra e njeriut çgarkohet nga një barë, shijon një qetësi, një lumtësi t'ëmblë.

Në këtë gëzim, stërgjyshërit t'anë ndiejin një detyrë t'u falen perëndive që sillnin këto mirësira. Dhe ashtu leu festa hiroshe që quajmë Dit 'e Verës.

Në pakë ditë, në Shqipëri, besnikët e funtme të paganismit, besnikë pa dashur dhe pa ditur, do t'rethojnë me verore degët e thanave, të dëllinjave, të dafinave, të gjithë shelgjeve të nderuara. Do t'këputin degë të gjelbra dhe do t'i vënë përmbi dyert e shtëpive dhe t'odave.

Të mos i lëmë të humbasin këto festa të vjetëra të racës s'onë. Nuk i bëjën dëm njeriu. Sjellin një gëzim të kulluar në shtëpitë. Në një vënt ku jeta e të vegjëlve është aq e trishtë, djelmuria dhe vajëzat kanë një rasë të rallë për të dëfryer. Për të mëdhenjtë, Dita e Verës ka një shie poetike të hollë e të rrallë. »

"Friends, comrades of the Albanian Association" Summer ", I send you friendly greetings and congratulations from the bottom of my heart on the summer day that is approaching. Let's manage to celebrate this beautiful day this year: Because we are not allowed to celebrate with the body, we will celebrate it with the heart.

What is the summer day It is the day on which - even before Christianity was born - our ancestors, together with the Romans and the ancient Greeks, honored the gods of flowers and willows. When winter melts, when spring comes with a broad smile, thin and tall as a Botticelli painting , people's hearts are relieved of a burden, enjoying serenity and sweet joy.

In light of this happiness, our ancestors felt obliged to thank the gods who had brought this goodness. And so the beautiful festival came about, which we call summer day.

In a few days, believers in paganism in Albania - believing without loving and without knowing - will be wearing collars made from branches of the cornel cherry, juniper, laurel and honored willow. They will tear off green branches and use them to decorate the doors of houses and rooms.

We must not forget about the old festival of our race, not harm a person. Let's bring a flawless joy into homes. In places where the life of the little ones is so sad, the young Burchen and the girls have a rare opportunity to pass the time. For the adults, the summer day has a fine and rare poetic pleasure. "

- Faik Konica : 1911

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ishte viti 2004: yes pse Fatos Nano e bëri ditën e Verës si festë zyrtare. In: tesheshi.com. March 14, 2017, Retrieved April 8, 2017 (Albanian).
  2. ^ A b Robert Elsie : A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture . Hurst & Company, London 2001, ISBN 978-1-85065-570-1 , Summer day, pp. 244 .
  3. ↑ Dita e verës, festimet kanë nisur para Krishtit. In: shqiptarja.com. March 14, 2012, Retrieved April 8, 2017 (Albanian).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Agron Xhagolli: The festivals of the year - songs and ritual customs among the Albanians . In: Werner Daum, State Museum for Ethnology Munich (ed.): Albania between cross and crescent . Pinguin-Verlag, Innsbruck 1998, ISBN 3-7016-2461-5 , p. 233 ff .
  5. ↑ Historia e Ditës se Verës, nga Çermenika deri në Elbasan. In: Peshku pa ujë. March 14, 2013, archived from the original on April 10, 2017 ; Retrieved April 9, 2017 (Albanian).
  6. ↑ a b Rituali i Ditës së Verës, ja katër fazat e festës. In: RTK . March 15, 2017, Retrieved April 9, 2017 (Albanian).
  7. ↑ Hektor Çiftja, Kreshnik voucher: Elbasan Turistik - A Touristic Guide to Elbasan . Ed .: Bashkia Elbasan. Erik, Tirana 2012, ISBN 978-99956-36-49-4 , pp. 18-21 .
  8. ↑ Shekulli: Mbi 1 milion ballokume ne Diten e veres. In: shqiperia.com. March 14, 2012, Retrieved April 8, 2017 (Albanian).
  9. ↑ a b Dita e verës, si festohet nga veriu në jug. In: Revista Psikologji. March 14, 2017, Retrieved April 9, 2017 (Albanian).
  10. ↑ Alban Tufa: Dita e Verës. In: Rruga e Arbërit. March 4, 2017, Retrieved April 9, 2017 (Albanian).
  11. ↑ Ç'është Dita e Verës. In: Tirana Observer. March 14, 2016, archived from the original on April 21, 2016 ; Retrieved April 9, 2017 (Albanian).