ROMANIA-SPRING-TRADITION

Market vendors sell traditional spring charms, "martisor" under makeshift shelters in central Bucharest on February 28, 2018. Romanians will be marking March 1 without the amulets they traditionally exchange on that date, the custom falling victim to the freezing weather gripping Europe. In the capital Bucharest, where it has been snowing since Monday and where temperatures have been hovering around -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), sales of the "martisor" good luck charms have plummeted along with the mercury. Almost no-one has been stopping at the stalls offering the miniature figurines, which are normally pinned to one's clothes. The martisor tradition is celebrated across the Balkans to welcome the beginning of spring, and is called "martenitsa" in Bulgarian, "martinka" in Macedonian and "martis" in Greek". In December it was added to Unesco's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel MIHAILESCU (Photo credit should read DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)