Today is Mărţişor: the earth renews itself

Today is Mărţişor, very sunny, 12 degrees Celsius and it definitely felt like spring not winter. On this day Romanians celebrate the first day of spring by giving women talismans, adorned with a red and white string, to bring luck and protection for the rest of the year. The mărţişors, as they are called, are pinned to their clothes or worn on their wrists. If you want to know more about Mărţişor, this link will help.

This is what I blogged about Mărţişor several years ago and below is a picture I snapped hurriedly at my favourite church in Romania, despite its being so restored, the Stavropoleos monastery, round the corner from me.