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Mărţişor
March 1, 2003
Martisoare, Unirii Square, Bucharest
March 1 is the day of Mărţişor (approx. [muhr-tsi-shore], IPA: [mər.tsi.'ʃor]), a holiday celebrating the arrival of spring as well as what used to be the New Year. On this day women receive flowers (especially snowdrops, hyacinths, freesias) as well as small decorative objects known as mărţişoare. These tokens have changed a lot in the past years. In the past certain symbols of good luck predominated, such as the four-leafed clovers, chimney sweeps and horseshoes. Nowadays the amulets can be just about everything. Most of them, however, are still attached to the traditional cord – red and white entwined threads ending in a tassel each. There are various explanations for the colors red and white of the mărţişor. In one of them, white stands for winter, and red for summer. In another, white stands for spring, and red for winter, associated with the blood of Jesus Christ, or another sacrifice, so as on the whole the threads are about death and rebirth. Red was also used traditionally to ward off evil.

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List of All Slide Shows
(Romania: What's Happening, Romania: Where to Go, and RECIPES WITH PICS)



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Romania Image Galleries
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Discover Bucharest, Romania
An 11 min 34 sec movie clip about the capital of Romania, produced by TVR for the Romanian Tourist Office. The camera moves from one famous building to the next, taking you on a quick tour of museums, inns and cafes, churches, and hotels. You can armchair visit the National History Museum, the National Art Museum, as well as get a sense of some of the architectural styles you will see in this city. Added: February 14, 2006.

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By Alan Ogden (Photographer).
Center for Romanian Studies, 2000.


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