sâmbătă, 27 februarie 2010

The traditional day: MARTISOR

Every year the festive day of March 1 brings back to us renewed hopes, confidence, faith in good fortune and a prosperous life. It is life, spring and the shining sun which win the battle against chilly weather, overcast skies and the nasty days of the Babe (the first 9 days in March).
This triumph of rebirth and regeneration could not be better embodied but in the Martisor ( a trinket, March amulet) offered to loved ones in early spring.
The white and red thread of this amulet (a coin, money cowrie) which parents customarily tied around their children's wrist, young men offered to young women, and young women used to exchange among themselves was believed to bring good luck, good health, "like pure silver, like the river stone, like the seashell".

The Martisor is offered early morning on the first day of March; it used to be worn for 9-12 days, sometimes until the first tree would bloom when it was hung on a flowering branch to bring good luck to its bearer.

In the folk tradition of the Carpathian mountain villages the Martisor was known as Drogobete, that time of the year when young women used to wash their face in "snow water" for getting "clean, pretty and white as the snow".

THE LEGEND OF THE MARTISOR


There once lived a poor man who used to make doll dresses, ribbons, tassels, and sold them at the market.
One day he ran out of fabric and all he could find at hand was two spools of yarn: one red and the other one white. Now he was thinking what could be made out of them; soon he came up with an idea. He tore off two strands from the spools, one red and one white and braided them in a cord. He was very pleased with his work and hung a small picture on his new thread. And he said to himself: How shall I call this ? I know. Martisor because is March and today is the first day of the month. This will be a gift that men offer to women. And he made several models.
Soon the word spread about his invention. And people celebrated March 1 because they wanted to preserve the memory of the day when a poor man created the symbol of spring and regeneration.
So, to the present day people celebrate March 1.





Mărţişor is the traditional celebration of the beginning of the spring. The day’s name is the diminutive of March and thus means something like “little” or “dear March”. It is a symbol of spring, “a good luck charm” in english and a “ porte-bonheur” in french.

The white and red thread of the amulet (a coin, money cowrie) which parents customarily tied around their children’s wrist, young men offered to young women, and young women used to exchange among themselves was believed to bring good luck and good health.It is also a a gift of sincerity, of devoted love, is a gift of the nobility of our soul. It’s an ancient tradition wich still lives.

The other legend of the Mărţişor says that Baba Dochia was going through the woods with the sheep and she founded an apple and she made a “ borta” and tied with a thread attached. This action happens in a day of March 1 and then the habit expanded.



Valentine′ s Day versus Dragobete

Le quatorze Février est connu comme le jour universel des amoureux. Que pourrait être plus joli qu′ un jour spécial consacré à l′ amour dans lequel tu peux dire à ton frère, à ta mère, à ton copain, à ta copine que tu les aimes.
La raison pour laquelle dans ce jour nous fêtons l′ amour c′ est parce que ce jour est celui dans lequel l′ employeur des amoureux, Saint Valentine a été executé pour le crime d'avoir glorifié l′ amour et les jeunes.
Nous avons aussi une fête, Dragobete qui a la même semnification comme Valentine ′s Day et nous la célébrons le 24 février. Dragobete était un beau homme indiscipliné; pris du vieux daces où Dragobete était un marieur et un parrain des animaux, les romains ont transfiguré Dragobete dans un protecteur de l′ amour auquel ils se rencontraient dans le jour de Dragobete, l'amour restait toute l ′année, ainsi comme les oiseaux se fiancaient dans ce jour.
Aussi, dans ce jour-là, les villages roumaines retentaient de joie des jeunes et des souhaits : ,,Dragobetele embrasse les filles’’. Dragobete protegeait les gens des maladies pendant toute l′ année et il aidait les paysans avoir une bonne année, pleine d′ abondance.
C′ est pourquoi que nous ont organisé une préséntation simultanée de ces deux fêtes et nous avons suivi une confruntation entre les deux équipes pro où contre Valentine′ s Day.
L′ équipe qui a soutenu Valentine′ s Day a fait une préséntation avec beaucoup d′ arguments pro en ce qui concerne le fait que Valentine′ s day est plus spécial que le jour de Dragobete.
L′ autre équipe a soutenu Dragobete parce que c′ est notre fête et nous devons mieux promover nos traditions et coutumes.
Nous avons aussi un échange de félicitations entre les garçons et les filles. Ils ont envoyé des félicitations anonymes mais pleines de bonnes pensées aux personnes plus aimées de leur classe.
L′ atmosphère a été pleine de joie tout en finissant avec la présentation Power point des plus beaux moments de cette activité que nous avons organisée.
Ayez une agréable visualisation !



Popular costume from Buzau Romania