3212) March Amulet (Martisor) Day, Romania: Romfiletala (Romanain Post has released a set of 4 stamps n the denominations of Lei 4, Lei 5, Lei 6 and Lei 13: Date of Stamp set issue: 01.03.2024:
20 years ago, on March 1st, on March Amulet (Mărțișor) Day, Romfilatelia was founded, the sole company designated by the Romanian Government to issue Romanian postage stamps.
This year, on March 1st, Romfilatelia has introduced into circulation the March Amulet (Mărțișor) Day postage stamps issue, consisting of 4 stamps (with face values of Lei 4, Lei 5, Lei 6 and Lei 13), 1 First Day Cover and a special product in limited edition, unique philatelic March amulets for all friends of the Romanian stamp.
As a symbol of spring, the March Amulet (Mărţișor) appears as a sign of the return to life of nature with its entire universe.
It is offered every year on March 1st, as a talisman of appreciation, luck and prosperity. Men give it to ladies and young ladies as a sign of admiration and respect.
A Legend:
A legend explains the association of two colours - pure white and red - in the braiding of the strings of the March amulets, starting from an incident in which a snowdrop, which had risen early, was surprised by bad weather, with frost and snow.
The Spring Fairy, loving and caring, removed the snow and warmed it in her hands but she injured a finger and a few drops of blood fell on the snowdrop and the nearby snow. Miraculously, the snowdrop recovered, and winter declared itself defeated.
As a visible presence, the March amulet is a small adornment tied with a string braided from a white and a red thread, which appears in the tradition of Romanians and some neighbouring countries (see Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria).
Early spring flowers are offered together with the March Amulet, among them the most representative being the snowdrop.
At the time when the March Amulet was present in the form of a coin, usually made of silver, the poet George Coșbuc explained:
“The purpose of wearing it is to bring the sun closer to you, carrying its face with you. This is how you become friend with the sun... to give you what is in its power, first beauty, then joy and health, honour, in goodness and purity of soul”.
In the times in which the Romanians live, the value of the March Amulet begins to be given only by the artistic creation. It can be made of any material and can mean whatever the craftsman wishes to convey as a perceptible message.
The custom of the mărţișor was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017, as “cultural events associated with the celebration of March 1st”, the proposal being made in a collective file by Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Moldavia and Romania.
The postage stamps:
- The postage stamps issue dedicated to the “Spring Celebration” presents four stylised images of exotic birds, metamorphosed into March amulets.
- Symbol elements attached to the image of birds encrypt messages that want to convey love, wishes for health and happiness, love, luck, etc.
- The red and white strings clearly define the notion of March amulet (mărtișor), reminding all men of the festive moment to be with their mothers, wives, girlfriends and female colleagues, on March 1st, with “a smile, a flower” and of course, with a traditional mărtișor.
On the philatelic cardboard are imprinted the First Day postmark in gold foiling and an embossing stamp whit the logo and the slogan of Romfilatelia “a world in a stamp”.
On the first day of March, together with the message of the symbol of love and devotion conveyed by the postage stamps of the issue introduced into circulation, Romfilatelia wishes to join the greetings:
The postage stamps of 4 Lei, 5 Lei, 6 Lei and 13 Lei
Full Sheets of 28 Stamps of each variant
Technical details:
Issue Date: 01.03.2024
Designer: George URSACHI
Process: Offset, in 4 colours (CMYK), paper for stamps, gummed, produced by Tullis Russel (UK origin), purchased by the Stamp Factory; weight: 112 ± 4% g/m2
Colours: 4 Colours (CMYK)
Size(s):
Stamp size: 36.00 mm x 36.00 mm,
Special block sizes: 100.00 mm x 140 mm (in philatelic album),
Minisheets sizes: 94.00 mm × 114.00 mm
Values: 4.00 Lei, 5.00 Lei, 6.00 Lei, 13.00 Lei
Links to Posts on "European Year of Rail":
17) Institute of Speleology (Study of Caves) "Emil Racovita", Romania: A Century of Research (1920-2020): A set of four stamps issued by Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) featuring representative images of Caves of Romania which are of great importance for Speleological Research & Activity: Date of Stamp set issue: 18.06.2020
No comments:
Post a Comment