”Jean Monnet” National College, Ploiesti, Prahova

ECHOES
English magazine
issue #10 of the
Doors
I feel I’m living in the winter of our discontent,
in an era haunted by all kinds of crises and
misunderstandings that have succeeded in
attacking our very inner restless souls. Wanting
more, demanding more, always trying to keep
up with the Johns at any costs (it’s called
”competition”, by the way, even if this implies a
constant spying eye upon their yard), always
complaining, always in stress, always in need,
lacing time, lacking understanding, lacking our we love
inner peace... oh, what a hectic life that is!
the time endurance wandering
That’s why, due to these columnists and their around.
articles, we have turned a positive and
we love
multicoloured face to the world itself and to
each other in our attempt to glorify God and the sunset and sunrise dancing
Easter, Spring and Mărțișor’s stories, those daily colours creeping on your floor,
flying lessons, Love and Valentine’s Day, that
period of our blessed childhood when we were we love
engrossed in a pure and simple attempt to climb your fire lighted up from ashes
a tree. and wanting more,
A green tree, an in blossom one, a tree full of we love
chirping birds always busy in their attempt to
build their nests. every breath of the verb ”to
live” embracing your shore,
So that, one by one, each columnist of ours have
embarked in this number ten tree, reaching for we love
each other’s helping hand, mutual the desire of your soul’s wall to
understanding and friendship. turn into a door.
See? It wasn’t difficult, after all...
Because we love
the silence of a snowflake falling down to the
ground,
Teacher: Claudia Stefan
we love
your love persuading your waiting time into
being a quiet hound,
we love
the faith of a prayer flying up and round
Spring, my favourite season
I suppose spring is quite uneasy for some
people since it is an eventful season: the
season of love affairs.
First of all, that’s because Nature prefers to
be quite boisterous from the twittering of the
birds in their nests to the amorous interplay of
soil and plants mirroring the emotional
anarchy in the nature of human beings. It is
reflected even in the behaviours of insects
singing in the forests, fields and terraces. It
acts as a lullaby to the roots as well. The
youthful hue of the westerly wind projects
itself to the objective of pre-pollination
process of foreplay in the flowers. The
scorching heat of the midday sun instigates
the lasses in recreating their wild thoughts on
eloping with someone special. They fantasize
a world of flirting. It is central to their attitude
conditioned by an eternal fire of destruction
leading to the germination of yet another life.
This season is no less symbolic for its
multifarious implications.
The most prosaic and the most tedious
component of natural creation – the bamboo
bushes – also start conferring with each other
so eloquently that they give up on the grip of
their spiky roots to give way to the golden
shoots to beautify the roughest soil on earth.
The greener pastures entice the herds of
sheep, goats and cattle to let the shepherds to
drink the graceful nature from its rejuvenated
sounds and sights.
They tend to have some respite oblivious
of the domestic pressures lying under the
trees and smelling the melange of floral
fragrance. The jackdaws initiate weaving
of nests singing on top of trees. The rooks
check out the blue sky in utter amazement
flapping their wings.
Why do dare to sing our humble hymn to
the spring then?
People’s minds are engrossed in a single
object – love – and beyond it the whole
world is not worth a thought. Because it is
spring which is a favourite season for
teachers and students alike, a season
which places as a harbinger much to the
delight of the tides of our momentary
illusions in our arrogant love adventures.
Most often the desires we possess could be
the instrument of liberty we don’t have
and strive to acquire, but in the other
hand, these desires could be the
instruments of slavery, too.
On the contrary, the pleasures derived
from nature can never be owned and
stored for individual gratification. Still,
they modify passions and dispositions.
When the meadows resound with revelry,
the rivers offer refreshing baths and
delightful rambles along their flowery
banks, the shades afford the most
charming and voluptuous retreats to
happy lovers, that is the moment when
people who love life count the blessings of
nature as if they are meant only for them.
Politically speaking, spring is a
season that whets the human
yearnings for freedom and equality
if it is denied to them by an alliance
of obsolete oddballs. The latter can
delay the inevitable for some time
and the downfall of the regressive
forces may take time but the defeat
of disguised and repressive bunch
of sycophants is inevitable as it is
not an easy task to subjugate a sea
of unequivocal voices raised for a
democratic paradigm. The non-
violent demonstrations in the streets
carry a greater significance in times
of ideological crises. The
unwavering faith in pluralism could
never be dampened by petty,
degenerated and opinionated
outburst of individuals mired in
controversy. Hopefully, this spring
is truly coing to be a spring of total
liberty fringed with people power as
suggested by the spirit of popular
unrest anywhere in the world of
toppling autocracy.
So enjoy this magazine issue which
concentrates efforts towards love,
democracy, daydreaming, flying
lessons and... you. You... our
ultimate gift, always in our minds
and hearts. Give us your hand and
let’s fly together!

Teacher: Stefan Claudia

WHAT MARCH HARE BRINGS.... ina, Traistaru
They alsoCristina
had theans Spataru
chance to I
rina other
meet coordinated
talentedtheir work.from
students Some
different high schools
of the students in Ploiesti.
got prizes, the 2nd
Stefan
prize- Dobrin lulia 6E and 3rd
March proved to be rich in Claudia, Serban Alexandru
Emilia, Grecu
activities and contests for our students. prize- Stanica 5E. Cri All
stina, Traistaru Cristina ans Spatar
On the 1 7th March, the students uthe others
Irina got diplomas
coordinated theirand special
work.
from grades 6E and 8E took part in an awards.
Some of theNot only were
students the students
got prizes, the
activity which was organized in ableprize-
2nd to organize
Dobrin luliatheir6Eideas
and 3rd in a
collaboration with Mihaela Coada, the coherent,
prize- Stanica fluent speech,
Alexandru 5E.butAllthey
geography teacher, to celebrate St the
also managed to get their special
others got diplomas and messages
Patrick's Day. The students proved real awards. Not only were the students
interest in Irish culture, they made a
across in beautifully acted theatre
able to organize their ideas in a
presentation of Irish geography, music, moments.
coherent, fluent speech, but they
legends and lifestyle, including All intoall,
also managed we messages
get their are looking
everything from leprechauns and forward
across to having acted
in beautifully more theatre
interesting
shamrocks to Lord of the Dance and activities in April. Even if the poet T.
moments.
hidden treasures Doina Badea's students S. All Eliotin all,said
we are"Aprillooking is
performed in a funny Irish play, wearing forward to having more interesting
the cruelest month", even if the
original leprechaun costumes. activities in April.
Irina Spataru's students recited poems March Hare and Even if the poet
the Easter Bunny
T. S. Eliot said "April is
sang and danced to create the Irish have already left with their gifts and
the cruelest month", even if the
atmosphere, to which we added all, we
March Hare hopeandspring will Bunny
the Easter bring us
traditional Irish songs on the school inspiration,
have already leftenergy
withand
theirideas
giftsfor
andnew
radio. contests
all, we hope and spring
performances.
will bring us
On the 21 of March, the students inspiration, energy and ideas for
had another opportunity to prove their new contests and performances.
talent in drama performance, when they
participated in the final of Speak Out, a
national competition in which
participants must deliver a five minute
speech on a given theme. This year the Teacher:Spataru Irina
themes were: Rich man, poor man/
Care and be fair. It was our first
participation in such a contest, but the
students had very creative
presentations, using costumes, images, Teacher:Spataru Irina
music, props and classical legends to
fascinate the audience.

They also had the chance to meet

other talented students from
different high schools in Ploiesti.
Stefan
Claudia, Serban Emilia, Grecu Crist
SPRING – My Favourite Season flowers. The trees are in blossom, they
smell beautiful and their green leaves,
their white and pink flowers make up a
wonderful picture. When spring comes,
I’m happy, energetic, I’m always in the
mood to meet my friends, to go out. I
love March 1st because I offer
”mărțișoare” to my friends and I receive
some from them. March 8th is Mother’s
Day and I offer something special to my
mother and she’s really happy to receive
the gift. After these days, Easter comes.
My family and I celebrate this important
day together with our loved ones.
To sum up, because of all these
wonderful things I love spring the best.
Spring is the season when the nature
comes to life, it becomes coloured and
the sun shines a lot.
Spring is my favourite season because
after a long winter, I can finally be
happy in the sunlight, I don’t have to
wear warm thick any more. I can go out
with my friends and we are happy with
the atmosphere around us. In nature, I
can see the brightness of the blinding
sun, the glittering sunlight on the wet
flowers and the silvery light of the moon
at night. I can hear the soothing songs of
birds and I can smell the fresh aroma of
THE FLYING LESSON "Take care! Don't hurry like
that", mother warned them.
”It’s going to take some time,
don’t expect to be able to fly
just like that.”
”Come on, mom, it can’t be
that hard!” they told her.
She knew that was only the
first lesson of many to come.
She also knew that there were
dangers and that her kids
would soon leave the nest.
It as a beautiful summer
morning. The birds were
singing, the sun was shining
and the air was warm and
fresh. It was the perfect day for
a flying lesson.
Mother was happy and a bit
worried at the same time, but
the kids were all excited and
did not care about the danger.
"So, today is the big day", she
announced.
"We're going to learn how to
fly, we're so happy", they kept
saying.
 Every Time I Climb
a Tree
Every time I climb a tree
Every time I climb a tree
Every time I climb a tree
I scrape a leg
Or skin a knee
And every time I climb a tree
I find some ants A
ll over me .
And every time I climb a tree
"Where have you been?"
They say to me.
But don't they know
That I am free
Every time I climb a tree?
I like it best
to spot a nest Every time I climb a tree

that has an egg (though climbing may be good for

ants
or maybe three
It isn't awfully good for pants)
and then I skin the other leg.
It is so pretty good for me
But every time I climb a tree
Oh! Every time I climb a tree
I see a lot of things to see:
I feel the whole world can be
Swallows, roof tops and TV
A magic charm entirely
And ail the fields and farms there be.

Stanica Alexandru Cls a V-a E

Prof. Cristina Grecu

Seasons..
It's a universal truth that every
season is beautiful in its own way.
Isn't it
wonderful to tramp down the country
lanes on a frosty winter day.
Everything is white with snow and it
crunches under your feet. The rime
sparkles on the branches and the
icicles like precious diamonds hang
from the roofs of the houses.
It's a merry time for both children
and grownups. They can go skating
and skiing, sledging and having a fight
with snowballs or making a snowman.
I suppose, it is very pleasant while the
frost lasts, an unpleasant time comes
when the thaw begins. Cars and buses
go along streets splashing the mud an
slush on the passers-by. Everyone is
grumbling and scolding the weather.
But soon a warm wind blows up
heavy grey clouds and the sun shines
brightly in the cloudless azure sky.
In a few months summer will come.
Summer is the most suitable season
for holidays and vacations. People
enjoy bright summer days if they are
in the country or at the seaside.
They go bathing and swimming, and
fishing and boating. But it's
unbearable
to stay in town on such hot and glaring
days. Everybody droops and shambles
and tries to hide in the shade. Then
after a good rest autumn and harvest
time comes. The corn has turned
golden and the farmer will reap it and
put it in his barn. The air is fresh and
full of the autumn fragrance of ripe
apples. plums and peaches and of
course, coloured asters,
chrysanthemums. But the weather is
so changeable in autumn, people have
to wear raincoats and umbrellas if
they don't want to get wet through.
The dead leaves cover the ground
like a thick motley carpet, the roads
are slippery and wet, there are lots
of puddles in the streets and again
everyone is looking forward to frosty
winter days and much snow out-
ofdoors. It's rather difficult to say
what season is the best one, however
dull and nasty or charming and
marvellous the weather may be. AS
to me, I always look forward to
summer. I am never tired of its long
sunny days, warm rains with
thunderstorms and hail, the buzz of
mosquitoes and midges. I like to
spend my summer holidays at the
seaside. In my childhood I used to
enjoy playing on the beach, making
castles and forts in the sands. When
one becomes older one begins to
notice the murmur of the sea and
it's so beautiful to look at the
moon's way on the water in the
darkness. The air is fresh and it's
easy to breathe. I like to lie in the
sun getting as brown, paddle in the
water or get splashed by the waves.
But it' s not every year that you can
go to the seaside. Sometimes I
spend my holidays in the country.
Most of my time I spend in the
woods gathering strawberries
and flowers or at the
river bathing and swimming in it.
Very often, help my granny in
the vegetable weeding it or
gathering tomatoes, cucumbers
or radish. like to walk in the rain
or Just sit
indoors watching the
raindrops falling down from the green
leaves and blades of the grass onto the
ground. When summer is over. I always
feel sorry, because it was too short
and was too quick to pass.
Mărțișor’s Story
The story dates back from the time of the
Roman occupation of Dacia, during a sun
eclipse. It is said that the Sun, looking at the
people having fun, wanted to enjoy the
pleasures of man. So he decided to come to
Earth as a young man and take part to the
festival. But his happiness was shortly lived
because an ogre kidnapped and
imprisoned him
The people were very sad because there
was no more sun. The birds would not sing
any more, the children werent happy any
more and the rivers stopped flowing. But
still nobody dared to face the ogre, until one
day when a brave warrior stepped forward
and after taking his strength from the
people, he went to challenge the ogre.
He had searched for the ogre for three
seasons, a summer, a fall and
a winter until he found his castle,
When he arrived at the castle. the
brave warrior faced the ogre and they
fought for days, until our warrior killed
the ogre. In the end the exhausted
warrior, with almost no strength, freed
the Sun which immediately started to
shine thus bringing spring again into
the world. Unfortunately, the warrior
had died before he could see the spring
season. His warm blood flew on to the
snow until the last drop; where the
drops had fallen, a snowdrop rose.
From that moment on, young men
have been making a white and red
string which they have been offering to
the girls whom they love or to those
close to them. The red colour reminds
us of the warrior's blood and the white
is a symbol of health and purity The
snowdrop remains not only a symbol,
but the first flower of spring.
What does "märtisor" mean ?
Giving or receiving a "martisor" is like
a love token. a proof of being loved or
under the love spell. Its shape or
colour. its string, everything represents
"something". If we give a person a
heart that means that we love her. a
snowdrop represents spring. The
"martisoe is, in the popular tradition. a
symbol of weeks. months and years
gathered and twisted into a string With
two colours, the colours
 representing the winter
and the summer, provided for as a
present on the first of March.
At the end of the XlX-
th century, children received a
"martisor" from their parents, on the
first day of March, before sunrise.
This was made from a gold coin and
the string was made from two strings:
one white and one black, or white and
blue twisted together. The black
colour represents the black fur which
old woman Dochia gave to her
daughter-in-law and symbolizes the
darkness of winter. The white part
symbolizes spring.
The fur, in the legend,
changed its colour from black to
white due to the girl's sacrifice. This
girl was the old Dochia's daughter-in-
law. That's why the red string
symbolizes the girl's sacrifice and
blood and the white string symbolizes
her purity.
It is said that the stnng from
the "martisor", a rope of 365 or 366
days, was sown by old
woman Dochia as she went up the
mountain with her sheep. Like the
fortune-teller that sew the string of life
for each new baby, old
woman Dochia sow the string of the
year. The richer families
had "martisoare" with the string made
of silver and gold. Children would
wear it tied to their hand, on their
chests or on their necks. The "martisor"
was showed at certain feasts like
"Măcinicii" "Florii", Easter
and "Arminden" - and it was tied to the
branches of trees.
What was the meaning of all
this ritual? It is believed that those who
wear "marlisor" will not be burnt
by the Sun during summer time
and that they will be healthy, lucky
and beautfiul like flowers.
After some time,
marbles, beautifully colored,
have taken the place of the
coin
The "martisor” is actually a
reminiscence of a ritual to renew
the time dunng spring, at the
symbolic death and rebirth of
Mother Dochia.
In some parts of the country,
throughout March, the "martisor"
was worn on the wrist. After that the
girls, before sunrise, would tie the
"martisor" to a tree, With the belief
that all thetr wishes would come true
One thing is for sure:
Romanians had been the first
nation to have this custom, after
which other countries in the area of
the Carpathian Mountains adopted
lt.
Archeological Sites In Roma
nia revealed the presence of ancient
"martsors" dating back to 8000 years
ago, which were actually small river
rocks painted in white and blue and
then tied together with a string and
worn around the neck. The red colour
given by fire, blood and the Sun
symbolizes life and it was attributed
to women. On the other hand, white
symbolizes the clarity of water and
white of snow, specific to the wisdom
of men The string symbolizes the tie
between man and woman. the colours
are used even today for the
"martisor"
According to the ancient
charts, the first of March was
considered to be the beginning of a
new year, because
this month had the name of the god
Mars, the guardian of fields and flocks,
god who symbolizes the rebirth of
nature.
The ancient ”Traci" attributed the same
role to the god "Marsyas Silen"
,considered the inventor of the whistle.
The feasts of spring and flowers were
offered to him.
At the beginning, the ”martisor" had
been a talisman, then a jewel and in our
days a "merchandise" of merchants.
The feast of the "martisor" has taken its
name from the month which begins on
that day.
"Martisoarele" are worn for 9 days,
sometimes up to 12 months. Some
young girls wear them until the end of
March, when they tie the string to a
rose. The coin has been given for wine,
white bread and milk. It is believed that
in this way a girl will have a face as
white as milk and fine like the rose -
queen of all flowers.
In old times women and girls had been
wearing "martisoare" until the first of
May at the feast of "Arminden", when
they bought red wine they were
drinking at the shade of the trees, on
green grass, together with those who
had given them the 'martisor".

Enescu Cristiana
SF 11th Grade
Teacher: Stefan Claudia

The "martishor"'s
tradition in
Romania
The tradition of the "martisor" dates
back from old times and It is in fact the
holiday at the beginning of spring. It is
said that the "martisor"is given in the
morning of the first day of March.lt is
worn until the first inblossom tree is
seen. Then it is hanged on the trees
branches for the one who wears the
"martisor" to have a good year.
In the old ages, the "martisor" was
made of gold, which symbolised
wealth.lt was hanged on a string of silk
made of red and white threads,
symbolizing a face as white as a flower
and as red as a rose.
Meanwhile, here is some history of this
Romanian tradition. Even if now, all
over the country, the "martisoare" are
represented through all kinds of
images tied with a string made of two
colours (red and white), which we wear
on our chest, our grandparents used to
mark the arrival of spring in another
way. Like other feasts, the traditions of
the "martisor" differed from one region
to another.
For example, in Bihor people collected
the rain water on the first day of March
or in the days of the so called "old
women"-the days from the 1st of March
to the 9th of March.They believed that
this water would make them more
beautiful and healthier.
In the same way, the girls from Banat,
went into the woods and gathered the
drops of early-morning rain or snow
from the leaves of the trees to wash
their faces. While they were washing
their faces, they were incanting the
verses of the "dragobete" about love.
"My wild strawberry leaf/ Of the month
of March/Let me be loved by
everyone."
Here is what happened in Dobrogea .
Just like in some other areas, the
"martisor" had been worn until the first
blossomed tree was seen. The
inhabitants of Dobrogea wore it until
the coming of the birds.Then they
threw it in the sky, thinking that their
luck would be great.
In Transilvania, people from the
villages hanged the "martisor" made of
threads of red and white wool on their
gates, windows, the horns of their
animals and the buckets.Why did they
do this? Because in this way, they
said, they removed all curses, evil
spirits and celebrated life, the
regenerating power.
In Muntenia, where the "martisoare"
were worn by children, young girls and
wives, there was an old saying: "the
one who wears the <martisor> is no
longer burnt by the Sun "
And in order not to forget something ,
in Moldova, the girls had made
"martisoare" and offered them to their
love, tradition that is still in use
nowadays in some areas, especially in
Bucovina.
The techinique of creating the
"martisor" contained a whole ritual. It
was actually calculated so that the size
of it was made according to the size of
the house gate, door and window-
frame, so that it could fit perfectly.The
talisman would protect the gate, the
door and the windows, actually the
whole house
On the other hand, we prefer buying
the "martisoare" from stands or shops
and we are waiting to give them to our
loved ones, both men and women,
because, among us, nobody minds if
we buy one to our boyfriend or our
father. After all, the "martisor is a
symbol of spring and spring doesn’t
just come for women, but also for men.
Easter Customs in Romania One of the major Easter customs
in Romania is that on Great
Thursday, as on this day Chairs
with blankets are put near the
fire, as it is believed that some
dead souls will sit on those chairs
while others on the ground. Girls
and women of the house thereby
carry water buckets to the graves
for the dead ones who will sit
there.
Unlike other countries, in
Romania the Church believes that Romanian Easter however
Jesus was born during the winter remains incomplete with its
solstice and his resurrection traditional mouthwatering
happened during the spring delicacies like "Pasca", traditional
equinox, thus Easter in Romania lamb recipes, cakes, stuffed pies
is indication of the bountiful etc.
season of spring. Romanian
Easter celebrations are looked
forward with great enthusiasm,
hope and joy. The actual Easter
festivities in Romania begin with
Flowers Saturday or Lazarus'
Satürday as this is also the time
when the girls plant flowers
followed by Palm Day also known
as Flowers Day, Great Thursday
and Great Friday. A week before
the Easter i.e. on Flowers Day,
prayers are offered in honor of
Roman goddess Flora and
willows are offered in her service.
It is also regarded as the day for
commemorating the dead and
thus the burial places are cleaned
and willow branches are put
above those entombments