"Martisorul" - A Romanian spring celebration gift offered to women on the 1st of March
The symbol of spring coming
"Martisorul" is a small object representing usually a clover attached to white and red thread that is offered to women on the 1st of March. It symbolizes the beginning of spring and is meant to bring luck to the ones wearing it. Nowadays it is given to girls and women and they suppose to wear it the whole month of March.
At the beginning it was offered to children, boys and girls also, but over time the tradition changed a bit and now only girls and women receive the beautiful decoration object.
Archaeologists have found objects that seem to be "martisoare" from thousands of years ago. Painted in red and white they have an important symbolic meaning.
The tradition
Red is attributed to women and white to men. The thread that bonds the two colors together represents the love that brings a man and a woman together, becoming one soul.
Another meaning of it comes from the ages of the roman empire when it is supposed that the new year was celebrated on the beginning of March and "martisorul" was the symbol of a new beginning.
Nowadays the shape of "martisor" is no longer linked to the clover and neither is it hand made by the ones offering the object. It takes the design of butterflies or flowers and it can be bought at every street corner.
The meaning of the tradition is forgotten also with the initial shape, but girls and women around Romania still wear it in March every year.
Make a wish!
The tradition also says that at the end of the month the ones wearing it will have to hang it on the branch of a tree while making a wish.
In Transylvania it is also hanged on doors or windows courtesy of the belief that it will keep away bad spirits. Among Romania, "martisorul" is celebrated in Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia also.
Wish you all a happy spring and lots of good posts and rewards! For the ones living in Romania don't forget about the 1st of March and our beautiful tradition kept alive with..."martisoare".