H.E. Ms. Maria-Antoaneta BARTA – The Ambassador of Romania in the Czech Republic hosted a friendly event at the beautiful Palace of Romania Embassy to celebrate “Mărțișorulu”, a traditional holiday that symbolizes in Romania the arrival of spring.
It’s a tradition celebrated on the 1st of March and it represents a symbol of health, joy, and revival of nature.
In the Romanian language, the word ”Mărțișor” is a diminutive of the name of the month of March. The literal translation of ”Mărțișor” would be “little March”
The “Mărțișor” has been inscribed since 2017 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a Cultural Practice associated with the 1st of March in Romania, Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia.
The Romanian spring traditions were brought to the Romanian Embassy in Prague by popular artists of the Bihor Cultural Center, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. The foray into the history of the March brought to the attention of the international and Romanian public the evolution of this symbol of spring from ancient times into the contemporary. The exhibition of marches and traditional objects and the marches-making workshops under the coordination of Bihore artists Mirela Bota and Narcisa Midoschi were complemented by the culinary tradition of the “Mucenicilor”.
The “Mucenicilor” is a special tasty sweet dish, baked especially on March 9 by Romanian women. “Mucenicilor”. Or Sfintisori – in translation “little saints” is made in the shape of figure 8, which some say denotes a stylized human form of the martyrs themselves.
There are two types of “Mucenicilor”: in the Moldova region ( my birthplace) the dough is baked in the shape of Figure 8 and then smeared with honey and walnuts, while in some other regions, especially in the Muntenia region , the dough is much smaller ( mini 8s ) and boiled in water with sugar, then served with cinnamon and crushed nuts, like a sweet soup.
The first part of the event was mainly addressed to the female audience from the diplomatic body accredited in Prague and Czech institutions, and the second part was to the members of the Romanian community in Prague and the Romania-Czech Association. Thank you, Bihor Cultural Center, for this new collaboration! We wish you all a beautiful spring!
Watch the video of the welcome speech of H.E. Ms. Maria-Antoaneta BARTA – The Ambassador of Romania in the Czech Republic, and pictures from the event.
