Saint George is the patron of this village, and on 23 April, his feast day, Sângeorgiu de Meseș comes to life. Romanians call the day Sângeorz or Sfântul Gheorghe, and in rural Transylvania it has long marked the start of the pastoral year, the day when sheep are taken to the hills and the shepherds make their contracts for the season. Green branches are hung on gates, fires are lit, and people make sure to eat lamb. The village sits in the western Meseș, about six kilometres from Cizer, a village of some two and a half thousand.
Villages named after saints are common in Transylvania, and the church usually keeps the name alive. Sângeorgiu de Meseș, Saint George of the Meseș, tells you it belongs to the range, which separates it from the many other Sângeorgiu villages elsewhere, and from its Hungarian neighbours who gave the saint a different name. It is a reminder that in this part of Romania, many places have two or three names in different languages, and the road signs sometimes show them side by side.
The ride into the village is gentle. The road follows a valley with orchards and hay meadows on either side, turning gently through a few bends and up a short rise to the church. The surface is decent in most places, with some patches of damage and loose gravel at the edges. Watch for livestock, because cows are brought home along the road in the evening, and for horse carts, which have the right of way in practice if not in law. Dogs run out of gates, so keep a steady line and do not swerve.
Fuel is not available in the village, and Cizer has only a small shop, so fill up in Zalău or another larger town. The village shop sells basics, and in spring a few households offer homemade cheese and eggs. If you stop in front of a house, someone may come out to ask where you are going, and the conversation usually ends with an invitation to come in for coffee.
Spring, around the feast day, is a good moment, and so is the first week of May, when the orchards are in bloom.