La Mulți Ani Marțișor!!

March 1st is an special day in Romania...it's the official celebration of Spring!!  Below you can read all about the customs and the legend of Marțișor.   For the past few days the streets in Severin have been full of tables set up selling goods for the holiday.  Each one costs only a small amount - maybe 1 to 3 lei (less than a dollar!)  This week, my students have given me 95 of these little trinkets (and lots of flowers too!)...yes, I counted!  With each gift, kisses are given on each cheek and a hearty "La Mulți Ani" is said...or for those brave enough to try out their English..."Happy Spring!"

La Mulți Ani de Marțișor!

Martisor is an ancient symbol of spring, the beginning, the joy of living. Here are some of the most beautiful and famous Romanian traditions and customs related to the holiday of Martisor

Red and white symbols

Traditionally, the Martisor should be pinned to your blouse or wrapped around your wrist before sunrise at dawn. The combination between red and white signifies unity between contrasts: summer– winter, cold-hot, light and dark. The blending of red and white also suggests life cycle renewal.

Customs and superstitions

It is also said that the person wearing his Martisor consecutively between March 1 to 9 will have luck all year long. Those who take it off earlier, are bound to misfortune. Don’ t throw away your Martisor, instead, bind it to a fruitful blooming tree, to enjoy a year just as fruitful as your tree and to give something back to nature.

Romanian ancient believes consider Martisor a talisman that defends from the forces of evil, prevents illness in the coming months of March and keeps away bad luck.

In certain areas such as Moldova or Bukovina, women wear round their neck a cord of red and white with gold or silver coins. In the old days the cord was worn for 12 days and then was used to buy a slice of white sweet cheese. Thus, the girl who wore the cord with pennies would be sweet and beautiful all year round.

In Transylvania, the red-white wool Martisor is hung from doors, corners, the horns of animals, the handles of buckets to defend from evil spirits and to invoke life through its stimulating colors.

Martisor is also celebrated in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania.

The Legend of Marțișor

Legend has it that hundreds of years ago an old woman by the name of Dochia had a daughter-in-law whom she hated. One cold day in late winter, Dochia gave her some black wool and told her to go to the river in the mountains and wash it until it was pure white. The young woman was afraid of her mother-in -law. So she went to the river and spent hours washing the wool in freezing water. For all her efforts the wool remained pitch black. The young woman began to cry. Suddenly, a man appeared before her. He told her his name was Martisor. "Why are you crying?" he asked the young woman.

After hearing her story, Martisor said he had magic powers to help her. He gave the young woman a red and white flower. He told her to wash the wool one more time and then take it home. The young woman put the flower behind her ear, washed the wool and carried it home on her head. When she got home and looked at the wool, she was speechless. The wool was white as snow. Old Dochia couldn't believe her eyes either. She had been sure her daughter-in-law would never be able to wash the wool white. Suddenly, she noticed the flower in her daughter-in- law's hair.

"Where did this come from?" she asked. "It’s still winter." The young woman then explained how Martisor had helped her. Old Dochia started jeering at her daughter-in- law. She did not believe a single word of it but thought instead that spring had already come to the mountains.

Old Dochia owned a herd of sheep and decided it was probably time to take the animals to the spring pasture in the mountains. She took a dozen sheepskins to keep herself warm on the way. It was a warm and sunny day when old Dochia set off, but freezing rain started in the mountains when she got there. Old Dochia changed her coats one by one as they got wet. When she had to take the last coat off, Martisor suddenly appeared before her. "How does it feel to be standing here in the freezing rain?" he asked. "You didn't think it was too cold for your daughter- in-law to wash wool in the river all day long, did you?" He then told old Dochia that he was responsible for the weather changes that had caused her so much trouble.

Martisor disappeared. Old Dochia was left alone in the mountains. The sheep had wandered away. The old woman froze to death and turned into stone. All of this had been the work of Martisor. It was after old Dochia turned into stone that spring finally came.

Happy Spring, everyone!!  :)