Do old customs still survive?
Are former rituals still effective?

The month of March used to be particularly significant for the members of the traditional communities in Romania; as a symbol of rejuvenation, March was the time when rituals of renewal took place. As in all traditional cultures, based on a dualist mentality, March was the time when the old and the new, the good and the evil confronted. For young people, it meant ritual games, gift-giving, and the well-known March amulets (martisoare). These "tokens" of an old culture survived. We can find them in jewelry shops, sold by street vendors, "recycled" in the family. They are a sign of love, appreciation, respect; they are the "forget-me-nots" of an old life.

Usually, man offer them to women, children to mothers, school students to female teachers. But
Does anyone remember that, in the beginning, women offered March amulets to men? Do people know the real symbolism of the March amulet? Is this only a profitable March trade know? Come and find out the story. Ask us about rituals of a vanishing world and their contemporary functions. Have your say in the customs of the "vanishing village". Enjoy a March amulet and more..

The Nicolae Iorga Chair of Romanian Language and Culture invites you a presentation on the subject Monday, March 1, 2004, at 7 p.m., 1225 IAB

Amulets for the ladies, topics for discussion for gentlemen. Or the other way around? Come and see