Mărțișor

Look up mărțișor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Mărțișor (Romanian pronunciation: [mərt͡siˈʃor]) is the Romanian name of a tradition celebrated at the beginning of spring, in the month of March, and the name of the associated object made from two intertwined red and white strings with hanging tassel in Romania and Moldova,^[1] very similar to Martenitsa tradition in Bulgaria and Martinka in North Macedonia and traditions of other populations from Southeastern Europe.^[2]

A sample generic Mărţişor

The word Mărțișor is the diminutive of marț, the old folk name for March (martie, in modern Romanian), and literally means "little March".^[3]

Modern tradition involves wearing the small object on the chest like a brooch or a lapel pin, during the first part of the month, starting from 1 March. Some older traditions held it should be worn from the first new moon of March until next significant holiday for the local community, which could be anywhere between 9 March and 1 May, or until first tree flowers blossomed, depending on the area. It was also more commonly worn tied around the wrist or like a necklace.^[4]

The object

 

Mărțișor on a Moldovan stamp

Nowadays Mărțișor is made from silk strings, almost exclusively red and white. Before the 19th century various other colors were used: black and white in Mehedinți and in Aromanian communities, red only in Vâlcea, Romanați, Argeș, Neamț, and Vaslui, black and red in Brăila, white and blue in Vrancea, or even multiple colours in areas of southern Transylvania and Moldova. Likewise, the material used could have been wool, linen, cotton, or silk.^[5]

Charms were attached to the strings, mostly coins, usually silver, or cross pendants. Later these ornaments were shaped to resemble various images such as four-leaf clover, ladybug, snowdrop etc. Bulgarian Martenitsa models the tassel into small dolls called Pizho and Penda. In Moldova the pendant started being made in the shape of ethnographic objects in the later part of the 21th century.^[6]

General explanations have been given by the observers of the tradition for the object's appearance: the strings are believed to represent "funia anului" - the year's "rope", intertwining summer and winter,^[7] the pendant symbolized fortune and wealth, or, like a talisman, brought and preserved good health and beauty to the wearer.^[8]

The tradition

The custom of gifting and wearing the Mărțișor is a nationwide tradition among Romanians, Moldovans, and Aromanians. In its very similar forms, Martenitsa is celebrated by Bulgarians, and Martinka by Macedonians, while other communities such as Albanians, Turks form Ohrid region, Greeks from Northern Greece, the isles of Rhodes, Dodecanese, and Karpathos, Gagauz people, and various minor communities spread around the world descended from the ones mentioned above also practice local variations of the custom.

The object was worn primarily by children and women, less so by men, and rarely by old people. Almost each region had a different time frame for how long it should be kept, varying from 2–3 days in Iași region of Moldavia, up to 2–3 months in Vâlcea region of Oltenia. Very often the end of this period was associated with signs of spring in the natural world: the return of migratory birds such as swallows and white storks, the flowering of fruit trees (apple tree, cherry tree), the blossoming of roses, or with the next significant holiday in the calendar.

When it was decided that the object should be removed the common custom was tying it to a branch of a tree or placing it on a fence as a gift for migratory birds returning from the south. Less common in practice north of the Danube, but often recorded in Dobruja, Mărțișor was left under a rock (the type of insects found on the spot were interpreted as omens), thrown in a spring or river (Gorj), or even burned.^[9] In modern days they are often kept as souvenirs.

The tradition is placed along with other spring celebrations marking the year's cycle, agricultural communities associated it with the end of winter and start of spring. In particular it is connected to the days of "Baba Dochia", a mythological figure of Romanian folklore, and the beginning of the year in Antiquity with the month of March.^[10]

Gallery

• Mărţişoare
•  

  "Mărțișor" - jewel.

•  

  "Mărțișor" - plated jewel.

•  

  "Mărțișoare" - jewels.

•  

  Traditional Mărțișoare

•  

  Mărțișor - snowdrop

See also

• Dragobete - another Romanian spring/fertility holiday
• Martenitsa

Literature

• Despina Leonhard: Das Märzchen: Brauch und Legende / Mărțişorul: Obicei şi Legendă. Ganderkesee 2016. ISBN 978-3-944665-06-1

References

1. Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explicativ Dictionary of the Romanian Language]. Editura Univers Enciclopedic. 2016. ISBN 978-606-704-161-3.
2. Hedeșan, Otilia (2016). Mărțișorul. Ediție limitată [Mărţişor. Limited Edition]. Editura Universității de Vest. p. 13. ISBN 978-973-125-477-7.
3. Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explicativ Dictionary of the Romanian Language]. Editura Univers Enciclopedic. 2016. ISBN 978-606-704-161-3.
4. Ghinoiu, Ion (2003). Sărbători și obiceiuri la români [Romanian Holidays and Traditions]. Editura Elion. p. 233.
5. Hedeșan, Otilia (2016). Mărțișorul. Ediție limitată [Mărţişor. Limited Edition]. Editura Universității de Vest. pp. 13–27. ISBN 978-973-125-477-7.
6. Hedeșan, Otilia (2016). Mărțișorul. Ediție limitată [Mărţişor. Limited Edition]. Editura Universității de Vest. pp. 13–27. ISBN 978-973-125-477-7.
7. Ghinoiu, Ion (2003). Sărbători și obiceiuri la români [Romanian Holidays and Traditions]. Editura Elion. p. 233.
8. Hedeșan, Otilia (2016). Mărțișorul. Ediție limitată [Mărţişor. Limited Edition]. Editura Universității de Vest. p. 21. ISBN 978-973-125-477-7.
9. Hedeșan, Otilia (2016). Mărțișorul. Ediție limitată [Mărţişor. Limited Edition]. Editura Universității de Vest. p. 31. ISBN 978-973-125-477-7.
10. Pop, Mihai (1999). Obiceiuri tradiționale românești [Traditional Romanian Customs]. Editura Univers. pp. 99–104. ISBN 973-34-0622-8.

External links

• Romania Welcomes Spring with Martisor Day. History and Traditions - Info in English by the native students of Romania
• Martisor Gallery - collection of Martisor related images
• Traditii si obiceiuri on Travelworld.ro