Martişor
March first. Cool. Another month has passed, and the days are getting longer and warmer. Here in Moldova, seasons are determined by the months, not by the lunar calendar, so here it is officially the first day of Spring today! In fact, this week is another vacation week for school children and today is the holiday of Martişor. Everywhere here women and children wear little floral decorations on their coats in the colors of red and white. The more decorations they have on, is supposed to indicate the more popular the person is. This past week was also the holiday of Dragobete. I have copied a little blurb from our Director about the holiday for your reading pleasure:
Dragobete is a traditional Romanian holiday, celebrated on February 24. Dragobete was the son of Baba Dochia.
The day is known as "the day when the birds are betrothed". It is around this time that the birds begin to build their nests and mate. On this day, considered locally the first day of spring, boys and girls gather vernal flowers and sing together. Maidens used to collect the snow that still lies on the ground in many villages and then melt it, using the water in magic potions throughout the rest of the year. Those who take part in Dragobete customs are supposed to be protected from illness, especially fevers, for the rest of the year. If the weather allows, girls and boys pick snowdrops or other early spring plants for the person they are courting. In Romania, Dragobete is known as a day for lovers, rather like Valentine's Day.
It is a common belief in some parts of Romania that, during this celebration, if you step over your partner's foot, you will have the dominant role in your relationship. Dragobete customs vary from region to region.
In neighbouring Bulgaria, the custom of stepping over one's partner's feet traditionally takes place during weddings, and with the same purpose, but it is not believed to be connected to Dragobete.
The day is known as "the day when the birds are betrothed". It is around this time that the birds begin to build their nests and mate. On this day, considered locally the first day of spring, boys and girls gather vernal flowers and sing together. Maidens used to collect the snow that still lies on the ground in many villages and then melt it, using the water in magic potions throughout the rest of the year. Those who take part in Dragobete customs are supposed to be protected from illness, especially fevers, for the rest of the year. If the weather allows, girls and boys pick snowdrops or other early spring plants for the person they are courting. In Romania, Dragobete is known as a day for lovers, rather like Valentine's Day.
It is a common belief in some parts of Romania that, during this celebration, if you step over your partner's foot, you will have the dominant role in your relationship. Dragobete customs vary from region to region.
In neighbouring Bulgaria, the custom of stepping over one's partner's feet traditionally takes place during weddings, and with the same purpose, but it is not believed to be connected to Dragobete.
In my Center work this past week, on Tuesday, the 24th, there was a celebration for Dragobete. I had invited the Country Director, the Administrative Officer and my Program Manager to come and enjoy the festivities. Teresa had been visiting since Sunday afte
rnoon, so on Tuesday there was a full house at work, and lots and lots of activity. The kids were excited and of course, cute and mostly well-behaved. The activities were fun, and it was a great public relations event. That day there was also some training provided to the staff on Program Development by an organization in Soroca. It is very exciting to see this progress. Wednesday and Thursday were more typical work days, and then on Friday I headed into Chişinău for the weekend.
rnoon, so on Tuesday there was a full house at work, and lots and lots of activity. The kids were excited and of course, cute and mostly well-behaved. The activities were fun, and it was a great public relations event. That day there was also some training provided to the staff on Program Development by an organization in Soroca. It is very exciting to see this progress. Wednesday and Thursday were more typical work days, and then on Friday I headed into Chişinău for the weekend.Friday was an early day on the bus and then when I got into town, the first thing I did, after my PC shower (!) was to go get my ticket for my trip home in April. I had bought the ticket for the Frankfurt-Newark part of the journey, and now I have my tickets for the entire trip. Yippee! The price of the round-trip ticket from Chişinău to Frankfurt was only $36 less than the ticket from Frankfurt to Newark! I know it is MUCH cheaper to fly in and out of Bucharest and take the bus back and forth to Moldova, but that just seems like so much more work. So now it is real! I am coming home on April 14th! Forty-five days! I can't wait! Well, of course I will wait, but you know what I mean...
The other big, fun time this weekend was our one year anniversary party on Saturday night. What a blast. A great dinner in a new restaurant owned by an American investor, and then out to a club dancing until early this morning. Almost everyone from our group made it to the celebration, and it was so much fun. Today I relaxed on the bus ride home, and tomorrow it is back to work.
I almost forgot, when I got to the Peace Corps office, I had two letters and two cards waiting for me! I was so excited that some mail actually got through to me! All in all, a very good week! Tomorrow is my nephews' birthday, so Happy Birthday to Nathaniel and Happy Martişor! Now it is Spring, even if it doesn't feel like it every single day, more and more days will be warmer! Miss you and love you all, xoxo. Jami
posted by Jami | 11:34 AM
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