Summer Day, Illyrian-Arbëre cultural heritage

The Day of Summer comes from the depths of the centuries, the Illyrian-Arbëre antiquity. It is a celebration of all Albanian and Albanian-speaking lands in the Balkans and everywhere. It symbolizes the joy of renewing the universe and enlivening nature and continuing life. It is known that the whole of Albania today celebrates summer day, but the cult of this holy holiday has its own temple in the surroundings of Elbasan, specifically in the well-known shrine of the Fairy of Cermenika "Djana e Candaviensis". This goddess symbolized in that ancient time the goddess of hunting, forests and all nature. This goddess had her own cult in "ancient times", which later spread to all Illyrian and Albanian-speaking areas. It is known that the statue of Zana in marble was discovered in Apollonia, on the coast of northern Africa and in Asia Minor under the name: "Djana Candaviensis". With the influx of Slavic peoples and the conquest of Illyrian and Albanian-speaking lands, they adopted this pagan Illyrian holiday and adapted it to their country and customs. The Albanian people fanatically preserved this cultural heritage of their descendants and inherited it until today. This holiday was adopted and celebrated by the Byzantine Empire and by the new Slavic nations that formed in the Balkans. Faik Konica writes about the summer day in "Albanian" that: "He rejoiced at the emancipation of the woman, who appeared with a special beauty, this was celebrated." On this day of celebration, women and girls went out to celebrate and had to wear the most beautiful traditional folk clothes, which they kept only for this day. On that day, the woman and the woman symbolized feminine beauty and the arrival of the beautiful spring season. On this day, girls went out with their families or even with their friends, exchanging glances with the boys, who also had the opportunity to appreciate and like a girl. Again, Konica would say: "The day of summer is the day on which our ancestors, when Christianity had not yet been born, would celebrate together with the Romans and the old Greeks, the gods of flowers, willows and trees, where winter hides and the smiling summer approaches, thin and long, as in Botticelli's painting, the human heart, unburdened by a burden, enjoys a calmness, a sweet happiness. In this joy, our ancestors felt a duty to pray to the gods who brought these blessings. And that's how the lovely holiday we call the summer day began. It was celebrated as a worship for: - mother nature, for her fertility and for her prosperity in the days to come. Summer Day became part of our national identity. The summer day of the city of Elbasan remained a unique holiday. On this day, the products of the previous year would be preserved, such as: fig leaves, walnuts, peaches, apples, jam, honey, etc. This celebration would start with making revania, which until then was the traditional summer day dessert, since Ballokumja seems to have been introduced later. Undoubtedly, every house in Elbasan kept castile copper vessels for this day, for making ballakums and revania. A good return was a good sign and a good omen, while a bad return was a bad sign, or a sign of the existence of "the evil eye and the evil eye". An important part of the summer day is the "summer", which consists of two strands of white and red wool. It symbolizes the red blood of the white age of the new generation. This symbol comes from the "prehistoric period", where there were no mascots or priestly signs. It symbolizes the protection of the sick and those caught by the "evil eye", which gives us to understand that this archaic symbolism comes from the old prehistoric time of natural and material superstitions. There was also the saying: - winter that sleeps me, summer comes with flowers. Bad things like: diseases, weakness, indolence, clumsiness, boredom, winter took them away. The summer day of Elbasan is a valuable heritage of tradition and Illyrian Candava. The plane tree of Mansi and the pilgrimage were the places where this holiday was historically held, they give us an understanding of an early ceremony, where the only cult was the Fairy of Kandaveve or Diana Candaviensis. Historians tell us that: Today's Mansi or "Ancient Manthiona", was a famous station of Egnatia, which was a station that awaited pilgrims visiting Skampini, with the sole purpose of praying in the temple of "Diana of Kandava". Summer Day is not only celebrated in Elbasan today, but from the north to the south of Albania. It is a pagan holiday, which has its beginnings before Christianity. In Lezha on this day fires were lit to give strength to the sun in the land and the house. Even the celebration of this beautiful holiday by the Slavic peoples also shows their Illyrian origin. This holiday started as a pagan Illyrian holiday and was also adopted by the other peoples who came to these lands, who coexisted with the Albanian-speaking Illyrian people, taking from them those customs, holidays or beautiful traditions, which were part of their life . The summer day has long since become a national holiday, which is celebrated in all the regions and cities of Albania, Kosovo, Chameria and the Balkans, where the descendants of the Illyrians live, with their old Albanian language. Summer Day today symbolizes a celebration of family and social joy, where people rejoice together and celebrate the arrival of spring and the better days to come, as well as the dawning of a better perspective to come. Collecting flowers on this day and making them a crown on the head, or placing them in a vase, shows the peace and love that this day brings to us and to our families. Summer Day today symbolizes a celebration of family and social joy, where people rejoice together and celebrate the arrival of spring and the better days to come, as well as the dawning of a better perspective to come. Collecting flowers on this day and making them a crown on the head, or placing them in a vase, shows the peace and love that this day brings to us and to our families. Summer Day today symbolizes a celebration of family and social joy, where people rejoice together and celebrate the arrival of spring and the better days to come, as well as the dawning of a better perspective to come. Collecting flowers on this day and making them a crown on the head, or placing them in a vase, shows the peace and love that this day brings to us and to our families.