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Martisor: Celebrate Spring

The first of March is Martisor, a celebration of Spring in Romania, with some similar traditions in Macedonia and Albania, too. On Martisor, people exchange small amulets made of red and white string braided together – often given by men to women. The amulets symbolize the coming spring, joy and good luck in the new season. Often, they have a coin or other good luck charm attached, and they are worn either pinned on the left side of the chest or tied around the wrist.

The amulet, also called Martisor, is worn for nine days. Alternately, the Martisor is worn longer, until the wearer sees the first spring bird or the first blossoming tree. If the string is tied to a tree that later bears fruit, the wearer will be lucky. If the string is thrown after a bird, the wearer will be as free and easy as a bird. In some parts of Romania the coin is kept until April 23^rd, St. George’s Day, when it is used to buy sweet cheese and red wine, so that the wearer’s face would blush like the wine and be as white as the cheese for the entire year.

It is also said that, similar to Groundhog Day, the weather will resemble the weather on March 1 for the rest of the Spring and Summer.

The holiday’s name is a diminutive from the name of Martie - the Romanian word for March, which, of course is based on the ancient Roman god “Mars.” Mars was the god of both war and agriculture. It is said that the two colors of the amulet – red and white – symbolize the two personalities of Mars. Alternately, they symbolize the turning of the two seasons, winter and spring, with red a symbol of the fertility of spring, and white a symbol of the icy winter. In ancient Rome, March 1^st was the beginning of the New Year, so Martisor was originally a New Year’s celebration.

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