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- Udatorii from Surdesti, Agricultural HolidayThe Magic of Books in Romanian Popular LegendsThe “Living Fire”Dream and Sign Interpretation in RomaniaThe Girl Fair of Mount GainaRomanian Wedding TraditionsEaster – The Most Important Christian HolidayDragobete – The Lost Romanian God of Love and LoversRomanian Spring Traditions
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Romanian Spring Traditions
ORIGINS OF THE "MARTISOR"
At first, the Martisor consisted only of the colored threads which were worn by women and children or were put on the fences to protect their houses. Later on, people attached a coin to it and started wearing it on their wrist or pinned to their clothes as a lucky charm. The significance of the white and red strings is not 100% known. Some say it comes from the fact that the God Mars is a blend of two characteristics. On one hand, he symbolized the regeneration of nature by being the protector of agriculture while on the other hand he was the patron of war.
Others are more poetic in explaining the origin of the two-colored
thread. They speak of a legend of the Sun that used to come down on
Earth in the form of a young man. One day, he was captured by a dragon
and kept in a dungeon. The entire world immersed in sadness, still no
one had the courage to free the Sun. One day, a courageous lad dared to
face the dragon and the Sun was up in the sky again, thus bringing the
world back to life. However, the brave man who achieved all this was
hurt in battle and could not be saved. His blood left red traces in the
white snow. Since then, people tied two threads together and give them
to the ones they love: the red one stands for love, reminding of the
young man’s blood, while the white one is a symbol of health and purity.
Nowadays, women wear the “Martisor” for about 9 to 12 days. After
that, some put it around the branches of a tree. If the tree blossoms,
it means they are going to have a wonderful year. Others wait until
the first sighting of a flock of storks and throw their “Martisor”
towards them. Still, the modern women are not so keen on these
traditions anymore. In Romania, the first 9 (or in some regions 12) days of March are
called “Babe” which literally translates into “old women”. As it is the
beginning of the agricultural year, people use these days to predict
how their year is going to turn out. They pick one day as their “baba”
and if the day proves to be sunny, then the following year is going to
be a prosperous one.
One Comment to “Romanian Spring Traditions”
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[...] is a Romanian tradition called Martisor. It celebrates the coming of spring, rebirth and others. Men buy women little (usually hand made) [...]
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