A glimpse into our “mărţişor” tradition

I decided to write about one of Romania's unique traditions, celebrated at the beginning of the spring in every year on the first March. It’s called “mărţişor” (it’s pronounced like this: [mərtsiʃor]. It’s a very interesting tradition; I loved it when I was little, because I had the opportunity to receive some “mărţişor” from the people and to give myself some to my mother and to the teachers from school. I want to describe this tradition and to explain some things that are done on this special occasion.

So, the “mărţişor” is the diminutive of „martie”, in English that means March, something like „dear/little March”. On this day men/ boys give significant objects to women/ girls. These objects are consisting of a jewel or a small decoration for example a flower, an animal, a clover, a heart, a chimney sweeper or other such things. This object is tied to a red and white string. It’s a nice decoration and it’s a true symbol of the coming spring. Every woman or girl who got a “mărţişor” from a man or boy has to wear it on her blouse or even on her jacket. Every woman wants to wear it, because they do it with pride and honor. In all areas where Romanians live this tradition can be found. The “mărţişor” is considered to bring good luck and wealth, but for me it's just a decoration. Some consider the red string the symbol of the spring, and the white one as the symbol for the winter, because the tradition is taking place right between the two seasons. Its beginnings are still unknown, but it is said that it originated in ancient Rome, because they celebrated New Year’s Eve on the 1st March (Martius). 

There are various myths about the “mărţişor”, I chose one for you so that you can imagine what's said about it. It is about a brave man, who rescued the sun. The myth tells that the sun came down to the earth disguised in a young beautiful girl, but a dragon kidnapped her and locked her in his castle. At that moment the birds ceased to sing, the children forgot to play and have fun, and the whole world fell into a deep sadness. Seeing what’s happening without having the sun, a young courageous man set forth to the castle to save the beautiful girl. He searched for the castle a whole year, but when he found it, he called the dragon to fight him. The young man defeated the dragon and rescued the girl. She rose to the sky and started lightening the world. The spring came and the people regained their happiness, but the brave man lay injured in the dragon’s castle after the hard fight he had. His warm blood flew into the snow till the boy died. Snowdrops (forerunners of the spring) sprang from the place where the snow melted. It is told that the people kept the memory of the brave young man tying a red and white string around their neck. The red color represents the love towards beauty and it reminds the man’s courage, and the white represents the snowdrops, the first flowers in spring. This is one of the myths of the “mărţişor”.

The “mărţişor” received in the early morning of the first March had to be worn 9-12 days, sometimes until the person saw a flowery tree and hung it to its branches. In some regions this custom is different: for instance in the region of Dobrogea the “mărţişor” has to be worn till the coming of the storks and afterwards it has to be thrown up in the air as high as possible, meaning with this that the person’s luck will be „high and numerous”. Another example: in the villages of Transylvania the “mărţişor” had to be hung over the doors, the windows and the horns of the animals to remove all evil spirits and to conjure life and power. But nowadays these aren't done anymore.

I enjoy this custom and I have great memories about it. For instance, I remember that I had a teacher who wore on her blouse ALL the “mărţişor” we (the class) gave her. We were very happy and proud that we saw our “mărţişor” on her blouse. I never heard about the myths and the believes of the people regarding the “mărţişor”. I was happy to buy and give them to others. I never thought it's going to bring me good luck or something like that... and nobody thought like that. I think even now this custom is a greater joy to children than to adults. I know about missions here in Romania, that use the “mărţişor” for evangelistic purposes. That is really great!