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Meaning & History
Sânziana, also known as Iana Sânziana, is a fairy in Romanian mythology. Her name is a contraction of Romanian sfânt "holy" and zână "fairy" - but, according to Mircea Eliade, ultimately also influenced by the Latin phrase Sancta Diana "Holy Diana". Its use as a personal given name was at least partly due to a comedy written by Vasile Alecsandri, 'Sânziana și Pepelea' (1881), which George Stephănescu then made into an opera. The legendary creature was often associated with an annual folk festival celebrated on June 24, as well as the Galium verum or Cruciata laevipes flowers.