The feast of St Paraskeva is one of the most significant religious events in Romania, drawing thousands of pilgrims from throughout the country. Days before the Saint Paraskeva holiday, the Romanian city of Iași has been filled with colour. Tens of thousands of chrysanthemums, autumn arrangements and fragrant arches embellish the city as pilgrims come to pray at the relics of the ascetic saint who reportedly had visions of the Virgin Mary.
Every year, worshippers queue at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iași, where the relics of Saint Paraskeva can be found. In order to decorate the city with the impressive amounts of flowers, work began this spring in Romanian greenhouses. To make the heart- or peacock-shaped arrangement adorning Iași, employees at the greenhouses need up to five days.
“There is a lot of work, as you can see,” said Petronela Trofin, an employee of the Iași Public Services. “It must be covered as beautifully as possible, then coloured, covered with flowers.” Over the last six years, all the flowers placed in the municipality of Iași have been grown in greenhouses that cover an area of almost 5,000 square metres.
More and more are grown with each passing year, and in 2024, there was an estimated production of 1.5 million flowers. The holiday lasts from 8 - 15 October.
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