On the 27th of February 2011, at 11:00, CCR organized the celebration of a traditional Moldovan festive day – Martisor.Moldovans have a beautiful ancient tradition on the first day of March: Martisor. Its name is a diminutive from the name of Martie - the Romanian word for March.
From the ancient time people were celebrating the arrival of spring with long time forgotten rituals. They used small pebbles painted in white and red arranged alternatively on a string, this amulet being called Martisor. Nowadays "Martisor" is present in all Romanian regions but you can find a similar tradition in Macedonia and Albania too.
In Romania this Amulet is a symbol of coming spring and joy. Exchanging them is a gesture of love, friendship, respect and appreciation. You can buy silky red-white threads (tied into a bow) and small plastic objects: flowers, horse shoes, leaves, bumblebees, animals, birds, tiny suns or stars, red hearts, and many others. People wear in the left side on their chests these amulets during nine days, starting from March 1st, of course.
In order to familiarize refugees and asylum seekers with this beautiful Moldovan tradition, CCR invited children and adults to celebrate the beginning of spring. Mr. Valeriu Belagruda, the CCR extracurricular activities assistant, taught all those present how to make a Martisor, all the necessary materials being provided.
