~ Annual Romanian literary evening with our Circle, featuring Valentine’s Day, ‘Dragobete’
and ‘Mărțișor’ ~
 |
‘Mărțișor’ (in Ro language)
or ‘March amulet’ (in English language) |
Since February it is
known as the month of love, this year we didn’t miss the occasion to honor it
on Friday (February 13’24), while
revisiting as well several dear themes to us, such as: Valentine’s Day,
“Dragobete” and “Mărțișor”.
For everybody's content, as well as a number of few different reasons, we had a warm and pleasing on-line gathering.
Diligently joining our heart to heart talks, my
friends unavoidably felt that making time to speak about love, to speak about
self-care, to speak about the significance of having good relationships with
our families and with our friends it is really beautiful and super meaningful in this very
consumerist, go-go kind of world!
Also, since LOVE was a significant part of our conversation I will take a
moment here to refresh that there are several types of love, and according to
the scholars here they are:
Eros (romantic love), Agape (unconditional
love), Storge (empathy), Philia (affectionate
love), Pragma (long-lasting love), etc., but the
highest of all is AGAPE (ancient
Greek ἀγάπη…which is a Greco-Christian term referring to love, "the
highest form of love, charity").
Now, quickly referring to our evening together, despite
the fact that our gathering was rather cozy, our talks were truly extensive, genuine
and really enjoyable.
For instance, specifically speaking, our dear
friend Dorina presented an interesting material (which is published in comments section), and our dear friend
Mihaela recited a beautiful poem (also
published in comments section). Then, we all continued with lengthy talks
about the multiple facets of love, about old seasonal and timely customs (from back home and from here), about ancestors
and inevitably about several (old and new) pages of history, all together defining the map of
a new beautiful page from the book of existence of our lovely Circle. Truly charming heart "nourishment"... Summarizing the main
concepts, we all agreed that time is flying really fast showing us that if we
don’t pay attention we could miss a lot, revelation which has the potential to
put many things into a new perspective.
In closing, as I wrap up my briefing, once again, my most
sincere appreciation to each friend who honored my invitation with kindness and heart-felt compassion.
Until next
time, my warmest regards to all for a great rest of the season!
Alice
“Being deeply loved by
someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
This event has been delivered in Romanian Language,
featuring Romanian culture.
● For a quick reference, here is a brief
historical background for each observance:
🌿 Valentine’s Day (February 14):
Nowadays, the Valentine's Day became an annual festival celebrating the
romantic love, friendship & admiration. Every year, on February 14, people
honor this day by sending messages of love & regard to partners, family & friends, expressing their affection. This originated as a Christian feast day
honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine.
🌿 “Dragobete” (February
24):
While Valentine’s Day is mostly related to people (a well-known saint
and those he helped) and their actions in the name of love, “DRAGOBETE” is a very old and truly beautiful Romanian festive holiday
associated with the arrival of spring as well as romantic love. No one really knows exactly when "Dragobete" started, it is
believed to go way back to ancient Romania (aka "Dacian Kingdom"). In early myths, "Dragobete" is the son of “Baba Dochia” (in
Romanian mythology, she is an old figure identified with the return of spring).
He is the Romanian version of Cupid – bringing love and life with him. It is
said that his magical presence could make the trees flower, insects, and birds
to multiply and can turn men and women into lovers. Celebrated each year on February 24th, this holiday is linked to the time of
the year when birds build their nests and mate, being mostly connected with
nature. As the first signs of spring begin to show, nature & man begin a
new cycle of life and love. 🌿 “Mărțișor” (March
1) or March amulet:
The name “Mărțișor” (mərt͡siˈʃor) is the diminutive of “Marț”,
the old folk name for March (“martie”, in modern Romanian language),
& literally means "the little March". The actual “Mărțișor” is
made of a small decorative object, tied to a white & red string, with two
hanging tassels, which is offered customarily on the 1st day of March to girls,
women & men (in some parts of the country) as it is
believed that the wearer will stay strong & healthy throughout the entire
year ahead. In the old times “Mărțișor” was regarded more as a protective
talisman, but in modern days, & especially in the urban areas, most of its
talisman properties got lost and “Mărțișor” became more of a symbol of friendship,
love, appreciation & respect, as well as a symbol of the coming spring in
addition to the snowdrop flowers.
NOTE: In 2017, UNESCO decided to inscribe “Mărțișor“ on their list
of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Please follow the links
below for a more detailed reading about this significant gesture…thank you!
● Previous events I organized on the same
concepts: Love, Spring &“Mărțișor”– 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed).
