The Days of Sic
19-25.08.2013
Annually, at the end of August the Days of Sic are organized. The main event on this occasion is the teaching of the local dance style and of other popular games of the region and also the studying of some unique and specific craftworks.
In the commune of Sic, on the day of Saint Bartholomew, on the 24th of August, the invasion of the Tartars is commemorated which happened in the year 1717. The center of this event is the Reformed church since this was the venue where the massacre took place when on a Sunday morning the inhabitants of the village were at church. The Tartars invaded the city, set it on fire and killed most of the inhabitants and about 700 of them were taken prisoners. Out of these only very few managed to return and even they contacted the plague so that by the end of that year only about 100 residents were alive. Such a catastrophe is very alive in the minds of those people who immediately decided to commemorate this day with three masses and the most severe fast until the end of times. But since this day many visitors come to the village, fasting ends little by little and tables become laden with food in the honor of the guests.
About the specific dance of Sic one can affirm that it is a cultured, dance featuring archaic elements, very archaic ones. The same characteristics apply to music as well which features profoundly archaic tones. Compared to other dances and music the ones from Sic could be characterized by a totally special order and seriousness.
The popular costumes are the most important and relevant elements of local culture where both Szekely and Saxon elements intermingle. Along the centuries these styles have become more and more or less and less pronounced some elements appearing others disappearing in their gravitation around the combination of the black, red, white, blue colors which have stayed unchanged. Women’s apparel, put on for various occasions are exquisite and at the same time very expensive being part of girls’ dowry from one generation to the other. For example on the occasion of Tartar invasions the declarations of the inhabitants of Sic, before anything else, the lost costumes are being cried after, then money, animals, furniture or other belongings.