The little apple is the harbinger of spring. It is the joy of smiling at the sun and the pleasure of creating smiles. It is an intrinsic part of Romanian culture throughout Romania, and nowadays also abroad.
His story is told through artistic creations and delicate red and white yarns. Its origins, however, are an amagam of stories about the sun, Baba Dochia, Dragobete and snow. Yet George Coșbuc tells us most beautifully why this tradition is so dear to us: 'the purpose of wearing it is to bring the sun closer to you, carrying its face with you. By wearing it, you make friends with the sun, you make it benevolent to give you what it has in its power, first beauty like his, then joy and health, honesty, love and purity of soul... The peasants put marzipan on their children so that they will be as clean as silver and will not be shaken by the cold, and the girls say that they wear it so that the sun does not burn them, and whoever does not wear it will wither."
On March 1st, to celebrate both the arrival of spring and four years of ROMPRO activity, we organized a fair of marzipan in host at our friends from Mittelmeijer Dance School in Amstelveen. It was a day full of fun, guests, food and good cheer.
Cards were brought to us by "The World of a Dinosaur", Haartes, Spring Charms and Mia's Children through the Amsterdam Ministry. Their creations brought together four completely different artistic styles, offering our visitors a wide and surprising offer. Plus, Romanian Library in the Netherlands brought us cultural trinkets in the form of storybooks for young and old. In addition to the rich offer of marquetries, Cristiana Stoian immortalized our joy in beautiful photos, Chimney Cake House sweetened us with cake again Claudia Marcu told us the story on the radio.
ROMPRO volunteers made sure that everything went smoothly and that both exhibitors and visitors had the best possible experience. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their time and energy. We are happy to enter a new year of ROMPRO activity with cheerful people, rich ideas and more and more friends who believe in what we do and support us. If you want to support us and don't have time to volunteer, you can join us through the Friends of Rompro.
If you crossed our threshold on March 1st, we thank you and we are very happy, if not, we are waiting for you next year with new marzipan and new friends. Have a wonderful spring!
