Spring Fever in Moldova and Bulgaria

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
Mark Twain

The country of Moldova celebrates the spring holiday Mărțișor. It is observed in a similar fashion as in their southern neighbor, Romania and begins on March 1.

Today's video (it is actually part one of three) is a celebration from the town of Dubăsari in Moldova.

The official language of Moldova is Romanian. Moldova was part of Romania between 1918 and 1940 and used to be known as Bessarabia. The music is very similar in character to Romanian folk music.

I have posted Part One of the concert here (the other two in the series can be seen on YouTube.)



In Bulgaria, March 1 is the day of the Martenitsa, a spring holiday which celebrates Baba Marta, a mythological character with tremendous mood swings.

The video  explains the tradition of the Martenitsa, with instructions on how to make one. It is accompanied by cheerful Bulgarian folk music.  You can even dance to it!



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Crossing the River Part Three: The Bulgarian Martenitsa and the Romanian Mărțișor

Mărțișor: A Romanian Spring Celebration


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.