Every year, in the beginning of March, Romanians observe the "Mărţisor", a ritual that symbolizes the renewal of the World and announces the spring.
The "Mărţisor" is made of a red-and-white string, with tassels on both ends, attached to a hand-crafted object, which is offered to girls and women on the first day of spring, and they will wear it as a broch, as a bracelet or as a necklace for the whole month.
Wearing the "Mărţisor" symbolizes renewal, hope, joy, love and harmony as it is offered first to the community members, then it is tranferred to Nature and by consequence to the Cosmos.
By spreading the two-colour Mărţişor-symbol, the opposed and complementary principles that govern the Universe: life-death, light-darkness, summer-winter, the primordial masculine and feminine principles are balanced.
The tradition of the "Mărţişor" is observed in the Balkans, by the Romanians, Greeks, Albanians and Bulgarians, having existed for more than 1.600 years.
In order to spread this tradition and familiarize the Czech public with it, the pre-school groups at the Hellichova Nursery School in Prague will be offered materials and templates to create the "Mărţişor" and offer it to their mothers or to other people in their families, together with the printed story in Czech about the significance of this tradition for Romanians.
The Embassy of Romania in the Czech Republic and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Prague wish you a beautiful spring and a prosperous year!
