Marțisor.

March 1st was Marțisor, the Romanian holiday celebrating the coming of spring!  It's a delightful little holiday, and for those of you still battling blizzards in the American Midwest, I'm sorry to rub it in -- but spring seems to have sprung here.  It's sunny and fairly warm, and today I even saw flowers poking their heads above ground.

Historically, Marțisor has always been marked by the giving of little talismans or decorative brooches or bracelets, usually red and white and often with a little bead or stone or decorative ladybug charm or some similar festive springtime icon.  It's tradition to wear the red and white string all month, on your wrist or pinned on your jacket, and at the end of the month to tie it to a tree, thus (as the legend goes) imparting on that tree health and vitality for the upcoming year.  Now people buy and share Marțisor bracelets and tassels with their friends (though it's mostly women and children who do it).  The few days preceding Marțisor in Târgu Mureș were fun, as white tents popped up all over town with vendors selling fresh flowers and Marțisor trinkets of every variety.

 The centru of Târgu Mureș, filled with Marțisor booths.

 

 The lovely Marțisor pendant Jack gave me...

We bought one for Otilia and Jack surprised me with one too, which I already have forgotten to wear every day... oops.  Clearly I'm not a true Romanian.  But I'm excited to tie it to a tree at the end of the month, and I don't think I'll forget that part!  In the meantime, here are a few more pictures, which I did not take -- but they give a good feel for what the Marțisor decorations are like.  If you're interested in learning more, the Wikipedia article on Marțisor is actually pretty good... check it out!  And a happy coming-of-spring to you.