The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, staged a show of embroidered peasant blouses on the Day of Embroidered Peasant Blouses, IPN reports.

In a news conference, the Museum’s director Mihai Ursu said that the Day of Embroidered Peasant Blouses wasn’t fixed by a particular institution. It was promoted through social networking sites and cultural communities that love folklore. This respect for the embroidered peasant blouses turned into a symbol of the cultural identity in Moldova.

Minister of Culture Monica Babuc said that Moldova on June 24 celebrates not only the Day of Embroidered Peasant Blouse, but also Midsummer Day. Folklore determines Moldova’s cultural identity and expressive intangible heritage by national costumes.

On the Day of Embroidered Peasant Blouses, a number of cultural organizations promoting the heritage staged a contest within which the participants posted pictures of themselves dressed in embroidered peasant blouses on social networking sites.

Folk music singer Silvia Zagoreanu, who is the senior specialist of the National Center for the Conservation and Promotion of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, won the prize for the most beautiful embroidered peasant blouse in the contest “Country girl”. She also received a diploma for contribution to developing the national heritage. This year the artist offered the Ministry of Culture 12 clothing items for the show of embroidered peasant blouses.

Mariana Dobzeu, specialist in women’s handicrafts at the aforementioned Center, said the embroidered peasant blouse is the most important part of the national costume. “The traditional embroidered peasant blouse is characterized by such indispensable elements as pleats and creases. This blouse represents all the folklore areas. In central Moldova, the blouse has more yellow or white elements, while in other parts more pale black and red elements,” she stated.

The Day of Embroidered Peasant Blouses is held in Moldova for the third time.