About US – AzArtCraft

Republic of Moldova

Republic of Moldova is a multi-national country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south.

Moldova has a fascinating culture, a mix of religious, architectural, musical and culinary traditions, which goes back to Roman times. The folk traditions and costumes are highly valued and preserved in the capital’s museums. Wine takes an important part in Moldovan culture, having some of the oldest vineyards in the world.

Even if Republic of Moldova is a small country, it has a lot of beautiful places worth visiting. Vineyards constitue attractions of the countryside. 140 cultural heritage sites may be included in the touristic circuit as well. We have many balneoclimateric health resorts, natural monuments, reservations, museums, monasteries and churches.

Our products

Everyone knows that handmade products are the most popular products nowadays, and the craftsmen put a lot of love, passion and inspiration in them. Over the last few years, in Republic of Moldova, we notice an increased interest in handmade items. Our souvenirs are handmade, eco-friendly and genuine Moldovian products, from highly quality materials, with all their love and passion. We offer a large variety of traditional souvenirs, that will bring a Moldovan atmosphere and a bit of history in your house. Our product will always remind you about the richness and beauty of Moldovan culture. The souvenirs will be an amazing gift and memory for family and friends. We also offer personalised and corporate gifts, for any ocasion and with the print you choose.

If you search for a visit in Moldova, don’t forget to buy a souvenir!

Limba noastră

Limba noastră ( English: Our Language) is a public holiday in Moldova celebrated yearly on 31 August.

The day is celebrated to honor the passing of the language law, which proclaimed the Moldovan language written in Latin script to be the official language of Moldova. The date of August 31 was chosen to commemorate the mass demonstration in the city of Chișinău, which occurred in August 1989.

National Language Day is marked across the country with official ceremonies, exhibitions, festivals and other cultural events. On this days, Moldovians honor Alexei Mateevici, a prominent poet who wrote the poem “Limba noastră”. This poem became the national anthem of Moldova.

The holiday is seen as a patriotic holiday and second only in importance to Independence Day which takes place a few days before on August 27th. Language is one of the most important national symbols for the people of the country and this day is the celebration of the most important national symbol of the Moldovians.

Independence Day of Republic of Moldova

Independence Day, which can also be referred to as the birthday of a nation, is an annual celebration on which, a nation celebrates its anniversary of independence from a foreign rule and assumption of sovereign statehood. Moldova celebrates its Independence Day on August 27th to commemorate its independence from the Soviet Union.

Moldova’s Independence was officially recognized on March 2nd 1992 when Moldova became a member of the United Nations.

On this day, the President makes public speeches and inaugurates new constructions sites. Flowers are laid at the Monument of Stefan cel Mare and a big concert is organized at the National Square. The people of Moldova participate in sports events, concerts exhibitions and outdoor events. On this day, every Moldovan celebrates being an independent citizen of a free, independent and peaceful country.

Along with Christmas Day, this is one of the few Moldovan public holidays on which shops will close.

The National Day of the Folk Costume

It has already become a wonderful tradition to celebrate the National Day of Folk Costume on the last Sunday of June. The celebration aims to promote the authentic Romanian folk costume and the cohabiting ethnic groups in the Republic of Moldova, the knowledge of the costume components and its symbols, as well as the promotion of the costume design techniques at national and international level.

During the celebration, folk costumes and ii, the main elements of the folk costume, from Moldova and Romania will be exhibited – true values from the museum heritage, as well as from private collections. During the event collectors are explaining the symbols and decipher the meaning of embroidered characters. Throughout the event, professional folk music artists are performing, and guests are able to participate in various creative workshops, visit a craft fair, and enjoy the diversity of traditional cuisine.

The National Day of the Folk Costume transformed museums into places of creation, into cultural and artistic hubs that have the role to involve different categories of people and to create a platform for intercultural dialog.

International Children’s Day

The origin of the International Children’s Day goes back to 1925 when representatives from different countries met in Geneva, Switzerland to convene the first “World Conference for the Well-being of Children”.

After the conference, some governments around the world designated a day as Children’s Day to highlight children’s issues. There was no specific date recommended, so countries used whatever date was most relevant to their culture.

In Moldova, the International Children’s Day is celebrated every year, in the first day of summer, in order to to praise the most beautiful period in our life – childhood- and to support children, to appreciate and love them, to promote the well-being of children around the world.

Children are participating in the events organized in the city center, they take parts in flash-mobs and different contests, there are a lot of shows and gifts for the little ones.

This holiday reminds us that humanity must give children the best it can provide .

Easter

Orthodox Easter is one of the most important religious holidays in Moldova. The day of Easter is taken to be on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

There are numerous Easter related traditions and most of them relate to the Church. The celebration of Easter begins with the liturgy in church. It differs from many other common divine services. It begins in the middle of the night in every church of Moldova. Every year the Gracious Fire is brought from Jerusalem to Moldova in the Holy Night.

It is also customary to color eggs in different colors for Easter, although red is considered the traditional color. A large variety of meals are prepared for Easter in Moldovan households, such as Easter cakes and Easter bread, which must be sprinkled with holy water at a church. And of course, lamb serves as the primary meat during Easter. Plenty of other national food is prepared in Moldova for Easter: placinte (a type of filled pastry), galuste (rice and ground meat wrapped in grape wine leaves), mamaliga (cornbread), various salads.

The second Sunday after Easter in Moldova there is a holiday called “Pastele Blajinilor”, which translates roughly to “Easter of the Gentle”. People bring flowers to the graves of their family and friends, and exchange gifts with others who came to mourn on this day.

Martisor

Martisor ( a diminutive for Martie, the Romanian word for March) is a celebration at the beginning of spring, on March the 1st, in Moldova.

On this day men offer to women martisors (a red and white string complemented with small decorations). The red color symbolize love for all that is beautiful, while white represents purity, good health and snowdrop (the first flower of spring).

There are plenty of options and they can range from red and white cord bracelets to precious stones and luxurious piece of jewerly. This talisman is an old custom and they say that the wearer will be strong and healthy for the year to come.

Both men and women can pin them to their clothes, close to the heart, until the last day of March. After this Martisor is tied to a fruit-tree twig.

Nowadays, Martisor became a symbol of love, friendship, appreciation and respect.

Since 1967, the Martisor musical festival is held from March 1st to 10th in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova’s capital. Members of amateur art groups and professional performers from other countries are invited to take part in the festival.

Dragobete

Way before Valentine’s Day, Moldova and Romania celebrated their own day of love, Dragobete, on February 24. It is a symbol of love, youth, hope and nature rebirth. Dragobete customs vary from region to region.

In the countryside there is an old tradition with girls and boys going into the woods to pick flowers. When they return home, the traditions says that boys were running after girls to kiss them. If the girl liked the boy she lets him kiss her.

The tradition goes that men should not hurt women, nor argue with them, otherwise they will not do well the whole year. Youngsters believe that on this day they should be joyous and respect the holiday, so that they can be in love the whole year.

Being alone on this day was a definite sign of bad luck in love for the rest of the year.

Dragobete remains one of the most authentic traditions and a good reminder of the ultimate need of love in our lives.

Winter Holidays

The most magical time of the year is here. Time to be spent with your family and friends. Time to create happy memories that will last forever. The entire world is excited about coming winter holidays and Moldova is not an exception.

On the night of the 19th of December, children are waiting for St. Nicholas. Kids have to polish their shoes and place them in front of the door. On that night, St. Nicholas comes and puts small gifts inside the shoes.

Moldova is an Orthodox country, so Christmas is one of the most important holidays. New Year is close, so the two holidays mingle together. Because Moldova is split between the followers of the Moldovan Orthodox Church which follows the old Julian calendar and the Metropolis of Bessarabia which follows the modern Gregorian calendar, there are two Christmas (25th of December adn 7th of January) and two New Years (1st of January and 14th of January).

One of the most common tradition is the Christmas tree, which is decorated in the first days of Decemebr.

An unique tradition in Moldova is the tradition of carols, which consists in good wishes, movements, dances and gestures. Children, as well as adults, walk door to door to congratulate friends, family and neighbors.

After the friendly dinner, children are excited by the presents that Santa leaves under the Christmas Tree.

Winter holidays are indeed special, leaving an impact on everyone’s attitudes, and reminding that there is nothing more important than time spent with family and friends.