All Romanians are vampires

“Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love to the women around them in a way somewhat similar to Mother’s Day and St Valentine’s Day mixed together.”

I had no idea, but

“The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. Among other relevant historic events, it came to commemorate the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The idea of having an international women’s day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions.”

Anyway, in spite of moving out of the socialist block, in Romania it is still celebrated, as well as in other Eastern European countries – for the complete list, check the wikipedia article the quotes above are from.

Typically what you do is give flowers to women in your life and try to spoil them in whichever (good) way you can. I’m never sure what you actually say on March 8th, I don’t even think there’s a special greeting, so I usually say – dear ladies, have a nice spring!