Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 1 March 2024, the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Uzbekistan organized an event to celebrate the beginning of spring. Traditionally, the arrival of this time of year is welcomed in Romania with a holiday called “Mărtisor”, the significance of which, in terms of spiritual heritage, is recognized at the world level. 

On the first day of spring, women and girls receive small gifts in the form of handmade jewelry intertwined with two threads - red and white. This decoration, just like the holiday, is called “mertisor”.

On this occasion, the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Uzbekistan organized a creative master class at the Tashkent International School to present Romanian traditions and teach the art of preparing “mertisor”.

In his speech, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania in Tashkent, Mr. Daniel Cristian Ciobanu, recalled the ancient tradition of the Martisora holiday, its symbolism in Romania and emphasized the importance of bilateral cooperation in the field of culture. The Ambassador noted that this holiday of welcoming spring has much in common with the Uzbek holiday “Navruz”.

Romanian-Uzbek cooperation is developing very successfully in all areas. Romania and Uzbekistan have enormous potential for interaction.

The Martisor tradition was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017, under the title “Cultural practices associated with 1 March”. 

The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage voted on December 6, 2017, to include “Cultural practices associated with 1 March (Mărţišor)” - a multinational dossier coordinated by Romania and compiled together with the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria - in the Representative List UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The meeting took place in Jeju (Republic of Korea), from December 4 to December 9, 2017.