Maslenitsa and Mărțișor

Maslenitsa and Mărțișor

The last few weeks has been very interesting for the city of Ceadir Lunga. We celebrated two holidays that are important in our culture! Do you know which?

They are Maslenitsa and Mărțișor!! Please read and see the pictures and videos of these holidays in our city!

Maslenitsa

Mărțișor

Maslenitsa

The first, Maslenitsa, is celebrated in February, during the week before the Great Lent. For this year, we celebrated Maslenitsa from 12 to 18 of February. Many different kinds of food are eaten during this period, like pancakes, cheese, eggs, but meat is forbidden because of fasting. The last day of Maslenitsa is called “Forgiveness Sunday.” Relatives and friends and neighbors ask each other for forgiveness and may give each other presents.

One of the more interesting things about Maslenitsa is the burning of the scarecrow, also known as Lady Maslenitsa, usually made from straws, rags and tied to a pole. The scarecrow is then burned, and people jump over the flames for good luck.

In the city of Ceadir Lunga, the SPTU school celebrated Maslenitsa by performing skits and dances, showcasing the history of Maslenitsa as well as traditional costumes of the people in Moldova, Gagauzia, and Bulgaria, which highlights the diversity of the students in the school and in the community. The costumes were beautiful and handmade by the students themselves. In addition, they also baked pancakes and other sweets and shared it with their classmates and teachers. During the celebration, they played fun games like sack race, a pancake eating contest, and pretend cockfighting. Then, they burned the scarecrow and took turns jumping over the flames! It was a fun, exciting event for the students, and a nice break from all the hard work they do in school.

Mărțișor

The second, Mărțișor, is an important holiday celebrating the beginning of Spring, on March 1^st. This holiday is celebrated in Romania and Moldova, and similar customs in Bulgaria and Albania. This is also a celebration of life after cold winter.

Mărțișor is the name for the little red and white string with a hanging tassel traditionally given on March 1^st. Giving it to friends and family is a custom believing that the wearer will be strong and healthy for the year. It is usually worn on the chest, close to the heart. Men would give women Mărțișors as a symbol of love. At the end of March, the Mărțișors are hung in branches of fruit trees as a good luck charm and fruitful harvest in the Spring.

We celebrated Mărțișor in our city by hosting a wonderful concert at the House of Culture on March 2^nd! Before the concert, local artisans and artists showcased their handmade work: pictures, wooden tools, dolls, and many other things. Of course there was also music!

Traditional dances and songs were performed in the concert: Moldovan, Gagauzian, Bulgarian, Romanian. The costumes were very bright and colorful. The music was lively and energetic. The people of Ceadir Lunga were happy to see these amazing performances. The concert highlighted the great skilsl and talent of local artists in our community. Many of the performers were students from our schools! They did a great job in preparing for the event and doing their best to give us a wonderful show!

We also celebrated Mărţişor in the square in the center of the city. The Bashkan of Gagauzia, Irina Vlakh joined us, and we danced a great big hora! We raised white and red balloons in the air and had a great time!

башкан Ирина Влах

Many thanks to those who participated in Maslenitsa and Mărțișor! We hope that you will have a healthy, fruitful year and harvest. We hope that next year our celebrations will be even better!

To view this article in Russian, please click on the link:
https://ceadirlungapgb.blogspot.md/2018/03/blog-post_6.html