Romanian Local Traditions Martisorul

By Stratan Ana and Simonescu Leea 7 th grade

DEFINITION Mărţişorul is a little piece of adornment

tied to a white and red thread, appearing in Romanian tradition and nearby populations, with special features in the south-eastern part of our country. Women and girls receive them and wear them during March, as a sign of spring’s arrival. The day of the Martisor is a moment of renewal and rebirth of nature, with the coming of spring and hope. The trinket is given to the loved ones in order to bring luck and prosperity. The most common forms are the chimney sweeper, the four-leaved clover and horseshoe, which are said to bring luck. With the trinket (martisor), spring flowers are often offered, the most representative one being the delicate snowdrop .

LEGENDS

1. The boy that freed the Sun A myth tells how the sun came down to earth in the form of

the lovely girl . But a dragon stole her and locked her in his palace. When the birds stopped singing , children forgot to play, and the world had fallen into grief. Seeing what was happening with the Sun, a young brave man went to the dragon’s palace to release the lovely girl. He searched it a full year , and when he found it , called the creature to fair fight . The young man defeated the dragon and freed the girl. She rose back again to the sky and lit the whole earth. Spring came , people regained joy, but the young fighter was lying in the palace after the fight . His warm blood was spilled on the snow and he was left lifeless. In places where snow had melted, snowdrops had sprung- heralds of spring. It is said that the world honors the memory of brave young man with a thread linking two flowers: one white, and one red. The red symbolizes the courage of the young fighter and the white is a snowdrop, the first flower of spring .

2.The Spring fights with the Winter

According to a myth circulating in Moldova, on the first day of March , beautiful Spring came to the forest’s edge and saw, in a blackthorn bush beneath the snow, that a snowdrop had risen . She decided to help it and began to clear away the snow and thorny branches. Seeing this, winter got angry and called for the wind and cold to destroy the flower . The snowdrop immediately froze . Spring covered it with her hands , but stung her finger . A drop of blood fell on the flower, reviving it . In this way, Spring defeated Winter and the red color of her blood symbolizes the trinket on the white snow .

THE HISTORY

The origin of the trinket celebration is unknown, but it is considered that it appeared in Roman times , when the New Year was celebrated on the first day of spring in the month of Mars. This was not only the god of war , but also of fertility and vegetation. This duality can be found in the colours of the trinket , white meaning peace and red - war. New Year was celebrated on 1 March until the early eighteenth century.

MORE ABOUT THE TRADITION Moving from the world of

fairytales to the real world, archaeological research show that people celebrate the first day of spring since 8000 years ago. For Dacians, the symbols of spring were prepared since winter. They were to be worn on the 1st March. In those times, the martisoare were white and red pebbles put on a thread or a coin ,sometimes more, bound by a white and black or white and red wool thread put on a thin thread. The Dacians believed they brought luck and wore them until the trees bloomed.

PRESENT TIMES Nowadays, the martisor is worn the entire month

of March, after which it is attached to the branches of a tree . It is believed that it will bring wealth into people's homes . They say that if someone makes a wish while hanging the martisor on the tree ,his wishes will soon come true . In early April , in many villages of Romania and Moldova , the trees are covered in trinkets .

INTERESTING FACTS In Bulgaria, the Martisor Day is

called Marten and even animals receive martisoare . Towards the end of the nineteenth century , children received trinkets from their parents. They tied a silver or gold coin called Martisor . These trinkets were worn as amulets . In celebration of the return of the spring the Russian Federation celebrate Maselnita on the 8th of February. Pancakes , which remind of the sun, are very important.

The longest martisor in the world was made in America by two Romanian designers who have made a trinket 584.6 meters long . It was made of jade , agate , red coral , pearls and crystals , which were mounted on peacock ostrich feathers and lace.

The people from Bihor collect rainwater on 1 March and they believe that if they wash themselves with it they will be healthier and more beautiful.

TYPES OF TRINKETS1 Made of metal: Keeping to traditions thousands of years old , there are the traditional iron, copper, silver and even gold martisoare (trinkets) .

2. Made of plastic: Much easier to make, the plastic trinkets are the most common and they can be purchased from various places and with various patterns.

3. Made of glass: Lots of generations of Romanians used glass martisoare which are probably the most beautiful and difficult to make.

4. Made of fabric:Since ancient times, a simpler version of trinkets has been represented by textiles .

5. Made of other materials: shells, acorns, corn leaves, natural flowers, paper, plastic or metal lids.

SEMNIFICATION

On March 1 , the Romanians celebrate spring’s rebirth of nature and the return of life, offering women and girls trinkets or brooches tied with red and white thread , which they wear for good luck and prosperity.