The last Sunday of July may have been the same day for the rest of the country, but for one community near the border with Hungary, it means a return to a tradition that has been preserved at all costs.

The penultimate day of the month of Kuptor coincided with the most important holiday of the German community in the city of Santana in Arad County. The church feast or Kirchweich, as it is called in the community, falls annually on the first Sunday after St. Anne, from which the area got its name.

For a long time, after the mass migration of Germans in the 90s, traditional events such as Chirvayul were the reason to return to Santana. And the local ethnic Romanians, Hungarians and Roma, although they did not participate in the parade and dances, were loyal spectators. And they earned a penny on this occasion, with bars and kiosks with all the products.

Brought to the Banat by Swabian settlers in the 18th century, Čirvaj is still held today in areas with Catholic parishes. This year, Santana celebrates its 275th anniversary.

Here, the focus of attention throughout Chirvai Day is on students of the German section of local schools, mostly children of ethnic Germans or mixed families. Young people dressed in folk costumes delight the audience.

Girls wear elegant black and white dresses. They are multi-layered and can be a burden in the summer heat, but for the participants it is a real pride to dress in such clothes. Boys have a white shirt and black pants. Indispensable in their case are black hats decorated with crowns of artificial flowers.

Together, couples parade through the city center under the admiring glances of local residents and dance to traditional German music. There is always live music performed by a brass band made up of representatives of the German community. It is a show that is now more artificially sustained to preserve a custom that once united and defined a community, regardless of ethnicity, language or religion.

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