Meet Mărțișor: Spring's Cutest Accessory

      

  

   If you have ever been to Romania, Bulgaria or Moldova at the beginning of March, you have surely seen these small accessories with red and white lace. It is called Mărțișor (or Martinitsa in Bulgarian), and it is offered to all girls and ladies in your family and entourage on the 1st of March, and they will wear it for the entire month. 

           

   The most popular Romanian version is the one worn like a broach, on the chest, consisting in a figurine to which the red and white lace is attached. There is also the bracelet version, but this one arrived later in Romania - actually, the first time I saw one was in Bulgaria in 2011. 

                              

   There are numerous legends circulating about the significance of the colours red and white: red is generally thought to be the symbol of the blood of various supernatural creatures who defeated evil forces, and white is believed to symbolize either the melting snow, or the snowdrop, which is the first flower of spring. As for the figurines accompanying the lace, the 'classical' and more traditional ones are lucky objects, such as four-leafed clover, the ladybird, the horseshoe or the chimney sweeper, obviously meant to bring luck to the receiver. Alternative options include flowers, animals, cartoon characters, from Disney princesses to Minions, and all sort of cutesy stuff. 

                     

     When I was little, I remember I used to bring a big bag of mărțișoare to school, for the teacher and all the girls in class. And afterwards I was returning home with the bag still full, with mărțișoare from all the other kids, and also the teacher. :) Nowadays, we don't receive them, nor wear them as much as in the past, but we still like them. It is another tradition still going on, or, better said, rediscovered. 

      That said, I wish all of you, girls and boys alike, to have a wonderful spring, which should see al your dreams come to life! ;)

Forget Valentine's Day! Did You Know that Romanians Have Their Own Love Celebration?

        

      

      Don't worry, I found out late myself! That is, I was already in my early 20s, around 2004, and I found out from a former workmate who was an expert in Romanian folklore. :) Therefore, today, the 24th of February, we celebrate the Dragobete, the traditional Romanian celebration of love and youth. A celebration from generations way-way past. And yet, all my childhood and adolescence I didn't even know it existed. Wonder why... Most probably, as it was the period of time which immediately followed the Revolution, and characterized by a somehow 'anti-nationalist' cultural trend, my generation was rather concerned with adopting the Valentine's Day from the western world. And the interest and love for the national traditions only arrived later.  

      So, who is Dragobete and what are the customs associated with this celebration? I read some stories and anecdotes about Dragobete, all with the atmosphere of times past. It is said that Dragobete was the son of a wicked old lady, a handsome and romantic young man, who, as legend tells, was joining animals in marriage, and later he extended to humans. On the 24th of February, as spring is almost here, the village's young couples were getting engaged in order for their love to be blessed and to last, other youngsters were joining themselves in symbolic brotherhoods, or were going to pick snowdrops, the flower that symbolizes spring's arrival, or were casting spells in order to attract love in their lives. It was also told that Dragobete was protecting those who celebrated him from illness, and so much more! 
            

       Being a celebration that we rediscovered rather recently, I would like to see it gain popularity, and I think it's getting there. Of course, it is more popular in the country side rather than the city, but here as well, we have lots of themed fairs and events. On the other hand, I don't know if I'd like Dragobete to fall into the other extreme, that of the 'commercial' and cheesy pinky-lovey-dovey associated with V Day. But for the time being, we're enjoying it, whether we are coupled up or not,  and we're happy that it's ours and nobody else's. 

The Culture of Protest and the New Romanians

      

    

As many of you might already know, Romania has been living on the edge in the past almost two weeks. The information has been all around the international press, that hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting accross the country against a decree proposed by the new government, which would have absolved a fair number of politicians who are convicted of corruption and other similar allegations.

       But of course, I'm not exactly here to talk about politics. You might also remember that I often raised the topic of active citizenship, saying that our country is at its first steps in the field, and also that, unfortunately, for older generations, it is something that reminds us of communism.

                     

        However, look at us: we`re learning! We`re al the thrid major event of this kind in less than three years. We had the suspicious organization of the presidential elections in November 2014, the tragedy of the fire of the Colectiv club in November 2015 (which was also the consequence of a chain of events including corrputions and negligence), and now this. And we learned to protest in a peaceful and civil way, and even get creative while at it. Some banners are funnier than others (some of them even naughty, rude or vulgar, but our politicians damn well deserve it :P ). Heck, protesters even danced in the streets. All media accross the world are giving our example, and for something good this time.

          I was there too. And it was worth it. Because it feels like you are fighting for something constructive, together with a huge number of people who think exactly like you. Because it gives you a certain feeling to strutt accross the crowd with a big national flag. Because you can chat up with random people (and yes, I also used to complain that Romanians are not as friendly as I would like), and bump into friends and aquaintances you haven't seen in ages. And so much more!

         I don't like what happened on the political scene, and I hope that thing will work out in favour of honesty and transparency. But what I like is that it looks like we have a generation of new Romanians, and that in the future we will stay this united. Ah, and of course, that we will also be this active when we go voting, in order not to repeat similar episodes in the future! ;)

Do You Celebrate Your National Culture?

 

For my first post of 2017, I have chosen a recently-designated special event in Romanian society. Since 2011, this day was chosen as our National Culture Day. Not by chance, as today we celebrate also the birthday of Romania's most important poet, Mihai Eminescu, born on this day in 1850. 

               

   

   Mihai Eminescu, a romantic poet by excellence, has remained in history for his works of great depth and complexity, touching several themes - love, nature, history and patriotic spirit (most of the time glorifying the country's past as opposed to the present political class - yep, still painfully actual), the mysteries of life and death, and so much more. He also had a tragic destiny, having lost his life at the age of 39 in circumstances which are still being questionned nowadays. Eminescu's works have been translated in various languages, amongst which English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and not only. Therefore, my advice is to find him and become familiar with his poetry - you will not regret. We certainly haven't regretted all the hours we spent studying and analyzing his works when we were at school. :)

        Nevertheless, beyond Eminescu, who definitely deserves us to celebrate our national culture on his birthday, I realized that we actually need to celebrate our national culture all the time, no matter where we are coming from. Here are some questions we need to ask ourselves, and to challenge ourselves with:

        ... Do we know our country well enough? Have we visited the most important or unique parts of it? Do we know the traditions of every region?

          ... Do we speak and spell the language correctly, without silly mistakes?

      ... Are we reading enough of its classical and contemporary literature?

           ... Do we know its history? Can we name as many public figures who made us proud throughout time as we can?

              ... Can we cook at least one traditional dish? (Yes, I know many of my foreign friends expect sarmale from me, but I promise I'm getting there... someday... :P )

             ... Can you organize a party only with your national pop music?

             ... Last but not least... can you stand up for yourself when your country loses its reputation on the international level (this one is for Romanians, but not only).

          I confess I may not be able to answer 100% YES to all questions, but it is something which must be continuously developped with time. Let's all celebrate our national cultures. Do you accept the challenge? ;)

          

Romanian Holiday Spirit: what Should You Expect if You Spend Christmas in Romania?

     

 

   Last time we spoke about St. Nicholas and the presents he leaves in our boots, but now, as a couple of weeks have already passed, Christmas is slowly but surely approaching. Well, as you can imagine, in Romania Christmas is an equally big celebration as in the rest of Europe. However, let's see together what happens, and then you will decide how similar or different it is, compared to your own country. First of all, I have to mention that there are very big differences between Christmas in cities and Christmas in the country side, or differences between various regions of the country. Therefore, now I will talk about Christmas in Bucharest and southern Romania. Well, it might not be as poetic or picturesque, but nevertheless, this is the Christmas I grew up with and which I can tell you about. :) An essential part, which applies to the entire country, is that Christmas is generally spent with the family, immediate and extended, and even close family friends, who are like family anyways. Of course, contexts may vary, but that's the general note. 

Christmas Markets:

Christmas markets have become a part of our lives more in the more recent, post-communist years. Generally, they are located in the cities' central squares, but also in parks or shopping centers. What happens there? Creativity at its best, different from year to year, as far as lights and decorations are concerned. Small shops designed as chalets, selling... pretty much everything. Christmas home decorations, mulled wine and other home-made drinks (alcoholic or not), food of all sorts (including warm food to be eaten on the spot), sweets, handmade clothes and accessories, and other traditional art work from all parts of the country. Moreover, live music is on every evening, especially in bigger Christmas markets.

Home Decorating

  As you can imagine, the main 'hero' is the Christmas tree. Shamefully for the Romanian population (myself including), we still have the tendency to prefer natural trees, because of the scent. That we are not exactly protecting our forests by doing so, it is an unfortunate matter but we are working on it. And that we'll spend the following next months cleaning up every single needle in the carpet, that counts as extra entertainment. :) Of course, apart from the tree, you can also get creative with other kinds of decorations as well: Santa Claus and snowman puppets, Christmas themed table cloths and napkins, pine crowns to be placed on the door, or small branches on the table, as well as suspended threads of lights around the house (the latter were my grandad's speciality). 

The Music

A very typical Romanian practice has to do with singing, playing and listening to 'colinde', which are popular Christmas songs, many of them by anonymous authors, learned from generation to generation. Themes are either religious, with the birth of Christ the saviour, either simply Christmas-y, about winter and snow, and the family being together, and Santa Claus bringing presents. What you may not know is that brave and preferably talented children and youngsters are traditionally walking from house to house on Christmas eve, to sing this kind of songs, and get sweets or money as a reward. This tradition is nowadays practiced more in the country side, but it does happen in the city sometimes as well. Should you trust to open the door to them? Here is a tip: you generally hear them sing when they enter the apartment building. Some of them have good voices and sing really well, and generally are music or theology students. These are those worth letting in and listening to. ;) 

The Presents

Moș Crăciun (Old Man Christmas), a.k.a. Santa Claus comes on the night of the 24th to the 25 of December. And we find the presents when we wake up in the morning. Preferably, they should be a surprise. Which leads to hiding the presents in the most improbable places and packages, as well as snooping around the house in the middle of the night, when the rest of the family is asleep (or so you think), and make sure Santa Claus doesn't get caught. :) Regardless of the budget, Moș Crăciun always gets to be generous one way or another, and no matter how old we are, we are still waiting for him. Eagerly. Very eagerly. :) 

The Food

Did I just save the best for last? :P As I have said numerous times, Romanians don't do 'light' when it comes to food. And when it comes to Christmas, we migh as well call ourselves '50 shades of meat', with occasional appearences from vegetables and other stuff. The more religious of us will go for a few weeks before Christmas without any animal foods (meat, dairy or eggs), but my family never did, or at the very most tried in vain. :) However, on Christmas day, it's time to let loose, and pray that little Jesus saves you liver as well. The main meal, when everybody gathers around the dining room table, is the lunch of the 25th of December, and these are the main heroes: 

- sarmale: 

The main course, but also the most popular. Probably the most famous Romanian dish, although there are variations of it in several Eastern European countries as well. Basically, it is minced meat, normally pork, all rolled up in cabbage leaves, and served with polenta, sour cream and green chilly pepper. Let the holy cholesterol rise! :)

- piftie: 

An appetizer, probably the second in popularity after sarmale. It consists of meat in gelatin, generally pieces of pork legs and ears (the skin is important), adding sometimes pieces of vegetables (which makes it even more tasty).

- sausages:

All kinds, all compositions, all shapes and sizes. 'Nuff said!

- pickles:

Vegetables in spiced brine, sometimes also with vinegar, with added black pepper, celery and dill. These veggies include cucumbers, red pepper, cauliflower, green tomatoes, carrots or yellow beans. 

- cozonac:

The main dessert, which is a baked loaf cake, with fillings varying between walnut cream, cocoa, rahat (the Romanian version of Turkish delight), or raisins.

Of course, Christmas lunch is not only limited to these foods, but they are basically the ones that should not be missing. Otherwise, you only have to get creative and create abundance... for the stomach. :)

Have I convinced you to visit Romania next Christmas? Despite the cold, it's a very warm celebration, and we are all looking forward to it. Next time, we will talk about New Year's Eve. In the meantime, I shall wish you Crăciun Fericit (easy to figure out what that means), and to spend Christmas with those you love the most, and to find joy in every moment. 

Romanian Holiday Spirit: Get Your Boots Ready for St. Nicholas

       

     I made a commitment that for the month of December I will get you in the holiday spirit. And I will do it my way: the Romanian way. :) Because we are a country full of traditions, obviously respected more in the country side, but also in cities. And yes, also in a hectic city like Bucharest - more so, as here the noise and the crowd is meant to become amplified from all points of view, throughout the month.

          Let me start with the fact that Christmas lights in the streets are officially lit on the 1st of December, which coincides with our National Day, also known as the Great Unity, when we became one big country. And now, we are one big country who is getting ready to celebrate, unitedly, in merry and noisy ways. :)

           Our first celebration is St. Nicholas (Sfântul Nicolae), on the 6th of December. We are not the only country celebrating him, as he is present in several European cultures, but we are very fond of him. It is like an ouverture to Christmas, and Father Nicholas (Moș Nicolae) is also very generous with presents, especially if you've been good. ;)

          So, here is what you have to do. Tonight, make sure your boots are clean, and just before bedtime, place them next to the window. Moș Nicolae is going to enter through the window, and tomorrow, when you wake up, you will find your boots full of presents. If you've been good, that is. Because if you haven't, you are very likely to find a rod, to be used on the bums of naughty kids. It is important to mention that Moș Nicolae is in charge with bringing sweets, or at least presents which are small in size and can fit into the boots. He leaves the big and heavy stuff to Santa Claus. 

                          

      Therefore, please prepare your boots. And yes, this applies also if you are a grown-up. And if you live on your own... oh, well... simply go shopping, buy small gifts, and treat yourself. After all, I know you've been good. And you know it too. ;) 

Athens & Piraeus: Stories of Vibes and Atmosphere

         

    We surely need a separate post to capture the vibe of Athens, beyond the main tourist attractions. And I must confess that you will not often see a city so crowded, even unexpectedly cosmopolitan, with people of all social conditions. Yet, this crowd, surprisingly, is not disturbing at all. Also, like all capital cities, Athens is full of life at all hours. The streets are full of olive and orange trees, as well as coloured flowers, still there in the month of November. Cafes, markets, shops and restaurants can be found all over the place, and the only dilemma you will have is where to go first. 

                               

       
       If, like myself, you are going there for a few days as a fully-immersed tourist, I would advise you to buy a 2 days' pass on a hop on & hop off tourist bus, such as Athens Open Tour. A 2 days pass, bought online, cost 18 euro per person, so watch out for such special offers. The advantage is that it stops at all points of interest in the city, and you can get on and get off how many times you want, watching out for all the stopovers on the map. With the headphones offered as you get on, you can listen to the description of all the places you pass, in several languages. Speaking of which... yes, Greek looks and sounds like an impossible language, especially because of the alphabet. However, just have a go at learning some phrases, at least for fun, and to use them to find your way around. And who knows, you might even like it! :)

                        

                                         

    
     When you are in between archeological sites and museums, you should definitely not miss Plaka, which is one of the most ancient areas of Athens, starting from Acropolis, and ending around Monastiraki Square. Plaka is made up of pretty and narrow streets, small buildings in typical Greek architecture, with white marble and iron decorations, with all the characteristic vegetation and lively colours.
      Explore the numerous shops all the way to Monastiraki Square, also one of the most important squares in the city, especially for shopping, where you can find everything you want: ceramic and clay objects, paintings and drawings, typical Greek sweets, clothes and jewels with traditional motifs, coloured leather bags, cosmetics based on olive oil and donkey milk, and the list could go on and on. Greeks like to negotiate, so definitely expect that when you go shopping. You won't buy anything (or almost) at the price displayed on the label. 
                          

      
       Also, if you go to Monastiraki on a Sunday, be prepared to see the biggest crowd you will ever see, from the strays and homeless of the city, to rich and elegant people, locals and tourists, who enjoy a day out. 
                           

                            
       As you reach lunch or dinner time, which I'm sure you will, the Monastiraki area (and not only) will offer you a wide choice of places to eat. Obviously, Greece is famous for its cuisine, so I wouldn't even recommend that you eat somewhere else than traditional Greek restaurants and taverns. The choice of dishes is, again, very broad. But by no means should you miss moussaka, a dish based on minced meat, layered with sliced aubergines and potatoes, and topped with white sauce. Not particularly light, but delicious. :) Greek cuisine also includes souvlaki (meat skewers), traditional salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives and feta cheese, large seafood plates to share, and pastries of various types. Also keep an eye on traditional Greek yogurt (which is different from what you find in supermarkets in the rest of Europe), and for the best olives (both black and green) that you will ever eat.

                  

          
     Last but not least, as you might remember, I promised you a bonus trip. This is the neighbouring town of Piraeus, Greece's most important and ancient harbour. And actually, the tourist buses which I was telling you about also offer an itinerary towards Piraeus, so it would be a pity to miss it. Still with a very strong 'Greek' atmosphere, Piraeus is also cleaner and less crowded than Athens, and, at least on the first glance, more exclusively higher class. A relaxing town by the sea, where it will be a pleasure to sip your coffee by the shore, and last but not least, you will be left wanting an apartment and a yacht right there and then. :)

                 

       

      My conclusion about Athens is that it is indeed a city where history and ancient civilizations meet a dynamic world, with vibrant colours, exquisite taste, and people permanently in motion. It was a perfect birthday present, and I am looking forward to going back someday. 
          ευχαριστώ, Αθήνα! I will not stay away too long!