I completely forgot about my blog anniversary until today when I read Deepika’s post. My blog turned five in January.
Five years seems like such a long time. Even though I’m not as active here as I thought I would, I decided that since this is a hobby and life does get in the way often enough, I will only post when I can and feel like it. If you’ve made this place a regular stop during your browsing sessions, thank you. If you left a comment, know that I really appreciate it.
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If you come to Bucharest between the 1st and 8th of March, you will see a city in celebration. On these two days, and the days in between, girls and women receive flowers, chocolates and “martisoare”(pronounced “martzishoare”). “Martisoarele” are small brooches to be worn pinned to the clothes during this time, and they come with a red and white little cord. They are a symbol of spring and can also be worn as bracelets. According to tradition, between the 1 and 9 of this month we can also choose a day which is said to foretell how the year will be for us. If the weather is good, we’ll have a great year, but if it’s rainy, our year will be one of challenges and hardships. This belief is said to come from ancient times, before we were conquered by the Romans and became Romanians. An old woman named Baba Dochia (baba means “old woman”) climbed the mountains on the 1st of March and every day she took off one of the sheepskin coats she was wearing. Every day it got warmer and every day she cast away a coat – a symbol of the spring to come.
I’ve missed this tradition. Living in Thailand can mean a blur of months melting into one another. The weather is pretty much the same most of the time (hot) and I would often lose track of the holidays we used to celebrate back in Bucharest.
I also call it a holiday because some companies give their employees a day off.
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- A symbol of spring
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- “Martisoare” pinned to my coat
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- And one for my hand
When it comes to reading, I’m off to a slow start this year. I’m almost done with a collection of four short stories by Daphne du Maurier. “Don’t Look Now and Other Stories” has proven to be a wonderfully bizarre book. I hope to finish it this week and review it soon. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman is another book which I read recently and should also write about because it’s a beautiful novel, even if it took me a while to warm up to it.
Congratulations on your five year blogging anniversary. My site turned 9 last month. I’ve never intended to do anything in my life for that long, but somehow it happened. These years just zip by.
But anyway, here’s to another year!
Thanks, M. Happy blog anniversary to you as well. Nine years is a long time to be blogging.
One day we’ll be old and wrinkly and drink our coffee in front of modern computers and still say hi to friends we’ve never seen before. Isn’t this fascinating?
Congrats on five years!! That’s awesome!
Thanks, Jenny. I can’t believe it’s been this long.
Oh these brooches are so lovely. I love the one pinned to your coat, it is so delicate and pretty. I can see how you miss these traditions in Thailand… I always find myself wishing there were more seasons here but summer and rain.
Congratulations on turning five! 🙂
Hi Priya,
There are two brooches pinned to my coat. I guess the snowdrop is not very visible. One is from my father and the other one from my sister.
You described it perfectly, summer and rain is all we get in Thailand as well. I’m not a fan of winter so it’s not that bad actually. I shouldn’t complain. 🙂
Thank you, I look forward to celebrating ten!
Congratulations on your fifth Blogiversary, Delia 🙂 Here’s to many more years of blogging! The Martisoarele pictures you have posted are so beautiful! Thanks for telling us about the Romanian tradition in March. The arrival of spring is such a beautiful thing.
Thank you, Vishy. It’s been so great meeting so many people from all over the world, all eager to share their love of books.
It does look like spring today, I can’t wait for the weather to get even warmer and the flowers to bloom. I’m glad you liked the pictures. There are so many martisoare out there, I haven’t had any chance to go out and photograph them but maybe I’ll do that this weekend.
Happy anniversary!
Your blog is such a great place to read about books and other topics.
I also do not blog nearly as often as I like.
I hope that you review the Daphne du Maurier stories.
I have seen the film versions of “Don’t Look Now”. They were strange but intriguing.
Thanks, Brian. This blog started with book reviews but I found myself wanting to try other topics as well. When I looked through my archive wondering why I haven’t written about this tradition before it dawned on me – this is the first March in six years that I’m spending at home in Bucharest. Of course I wouldn’t be writing about this from Bangkok, there would be no martisoare over there unless I made them myself.
I don’t know how Deepika manages to blog so often. I wonder if she ever sleeps. 🙂
I’m working on the review for the stories. I loved all but one in particular I thought was brilliant. I didn’t know there was a movie version of Don’t Look Now (which, by the way, I think is a great name for a story). Thanks for writing about that.
Congrats, Delia! I’m glad I found your blog a while back. I should get some martisoare for myself; still waiting for spring around here (although winter this year was almost nonexistent). Here’s to many more years!
Thanks for the good wishes, TJ.
I love these martisoare as well. There’s tons of handmade ones out there, I wish I could buy one of each. If only spring would hurry up and come here faster… We didn’t have much snow either but it was cold, way too cold for me.
What lovely images and what a lovely tradition! Looks like you are loving your days back home.
Happy anniversary! I so understand what you mean about so little time for blogging. I know some people can keep to a schedule, like every Tuesday, but I’m like you and blog when I can (or when I can force my sorry self to do it).
Here’s to more years for you!
Hi Deb,
Yes, this time of year is wonderful. I can almost smell the spring.
Blogging on a schedule doesn’t really work for me either. I tried but failed. I think in the beginning I was more active and really got into posting once a week or so but after a while it became hard to keep up the pace.
Thanks for the wishes, you’re very kind.
Happy five years! May there be many more years to come. Also, love the martisoarele! What a wonderful spring tradition 🙂
Thank you, Stefanie! I’ve been wearing them on my coat for days and love them. It is a wonderful spring tradition and one I’m going to miss.
Happy blogiversary! I always miss mine too but it’s nice to celebrate it occasionally.
Thanks for sharing about the holiday. It does feel like a very vibrant tradition. Colorful too.
Thank you, Athira. I’m always one for celebrating, even if it’s a bit later. 🙂
Yes, it’s a lovely tradition and a reminder of the spring to come. It’s always nice to be reminded of that. I took off my winter jacket today and tried on a lighter one. It felt so good to have something less cumbersome to wear.
Belated Happy Anniversary. Time flies.
I loved reading about this custom.
I’ve read mixed reviews about Hoffman’s novel. She’s an author I love but I wasn’t sure if I should risk reading this one.
Thank you, Caroline. Indeed it does. I can’t believe we’re halfway through March already.
It’s a lovely custom. I’m surely going to miss it.
I understand your doubt. I wasn’t very taken with The Dovekeepers at first but as I kept going it sort of opened before my eyes. There must have been a tremendous amount of research involved and I loved reading about the customs and the people involved. There are a handful of resilient women in the book and I must say, I was very impressed with the way they managed to survive. You should give it a try.
Hi Delia, I do not know how I missed this post. *shakes her head in disbelief*
Happy anniversary! Thank you for being a great inspiration, and writing about beautiful things.
I love these pictures. Especially, the one on your coat is lovely. Thank you for sharing the story with us. 🙂
Well, Deepika, it happens. You are forgiven. 😀
Thank you for the good wishes.
No more martisoare now, everybody’s looking forward to Easter.