Martisor - A unique spring tradition

The 1st of March is just one day away, time to get ready for the celebration of spring which in Eastern and Southern Europe comes with a unique thousands years old tradition. On the first day of spring, men are expected to give women small good-luck charms with a red-and-white string. The amulets are called Martisor, for the name of the month, which, in turn, comes from the Roman god of war, Mars, also in charge of agriculture and fertility.

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However, the custom is far older than the Roman Empire. Experts believe it dates back to the times where this part of Europe was inhabited by a population called the Thracians. That would explain why you can find this tradition in my country, Romania, but also in slavic Bulgaria and even in some parts of Macedonia. Recent archaeological excavations in southern Romania have unearthed 8,000 years old small stone amulets, very similar to the modern talismans of spring. Painted in red and white, the small stones were supposedly worn around the neck.

It is a very colorful tradition, as women wear the charms received pinned to their clothes, close to the heart, for many days, even weeks. Back in the days when people were more in sync with the rhythms of nature, the Martisor was worn until you saw the first blossoming tree or the migratory birds returning.

Although today the small good-luck charms are more valued, the tradition itself is more about the string – red-and-white threads entwined. There are many legends meant to explain the significance of these two colors, but they all point to the same thing, white is a cold color of winter, in stark contrast with the bright red of life renewed in spring.
One legend says Spring, in the guise of young girl, was one day walking around the woods when she saw a snowdrop fighting its way through the snow. As she tried to clear the snow, Winter saw her and sent a freezing cold to kill the snowdrop. Spring cut her finger in a thorn and a drop of her blood revived the little flower.
In some regions, the red-and-white strings are tied to blossoming trees, to ensure a good agricultural year. Others tie the strings to their windows or fences to bring luck to the entire household. This tradition was more relevant in the times when the New Year was celebrated on the 1st of March, during the Thracian period, but also when our territory was part of the Roman Empire.

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Bulgarians celebrate Martenitsa by tying the red-and-white strings to blossoming trees.

In more recent times, the custom is more about the talismans – from simple good-luck charms to miniature works of art and even jewelry.
Back when I was a child the most common charms were snowdrops, horseshoes, chimney-sweeps or four-leaf clover. Some people used the opportunity to create small amulets of their own designs and sell them at street-fairs: small paintings on wood or sea-shells, metal creations, all kinds of flowers or little glass animals. As a teenager, I tried this myself and came up with a range of moderately-cute mice made out of felt with small beads for eyes and nose.

The tradition of Martisor has been included in the UNESCO world cultural heritage, but just like many other old customs it is facing the onslaught of consumerism, as large retail companies are flooding the market with cheap made-in-China trinkets.

I really wanted to offer you some nice pictures of the busy street-fairs, but the weather has been awful these past few days. With snow and freezing temperatures, street-vendors are counting their losses, which is a shame as the few displays I've seen were impressive, as the amateur artists are trying to revive traditional charms.

Thanks for reading

(Uncredited images are mine.)