Mărţişor

Mărţişor (Romanian pronunciation: [mərtsiʃor]) is a traditional celebration of the beginning of Spring, on 1 March. It is a tradition in Romania, Moldova, and all territories inhabited by Romanians and also Aromanians. Almost the same custom can be found in Bulgaria (see Martenitsa) and similar ones in Albania and Italy.

The name Mărţişor is the diminutive of marţ, the old folk name for March (Martie, in modern Romanian), and thus literally means "little" or "dear March". It is also the folk name for this month.

Mărţişor, marţ and mărţiguş are all names for the red and white (or black and white, also blue and white) string, from which usually a small decoration is tied, and which is offered by people on the 1st day of March. Giving this Talisman to other people is an old custom, and it is believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be powerful and healthy for the year to come. It is also a symbol of the coming spring. Usually, women wear it pinned to their blouses for the first 12 days of this month, until other certain spring celebrations, or until the bloom of certain fruit-trees. In some regions, a gold or silver coin is hanged from the string, which they wear it around the neck. After wearing it for a certain period of time, they buy red wine and sweet cheese with the coin, according to the belief that their faces would remain beautiful and white as cheese, and rubicund as the red wine, for the entire year.

In modern times, the Mărţişor lost most of its talisman properties and became more of a symbol of friendship and love, appreciation and respect. The black threads were replaced with red, but the delicate wool ropes are still a ‘cottage industry’ among the country people. They still comb out the wool, dye the floss, and twist it into thousands of tassels. In certain areas the amulets are still made with black and white ropes, for warding off evil.

The Mărţişor is a talisman (amulet) made of knitted threads (wool, cotton, or silk). Nowadays, the most popular version of it is made of red and white threads, but in some regions it is still made of black and white, or even blue and white.

Black and White

Initially, the Mărţişor string used to be called year's rope (‘’funia anului’’, in Daco-Romanian), made by black and white wool threads, representing the 365 days of the year. ‘'The Year's Rope'’ was the link between the winter and the summer, black and white representing the opposition and also the unity of the contraries: dark & light, cold & warmth, death & life. The ‘’Mărţişor’’ is the thread of the days of the year, spinned up by Baba Dochia, likewise the thread of man's life, which is spinned up at birth by the fates (Ursitoare).

White is the symbol of purity, the sum of all the colours, the light, while Black is the colour of origins, of distinction, of fecundation and fertility, a colour of the fruitful soil. White is the sky, the Allfather, while Black is the mother of all, Mother Earth.

Red and White

According to the ancient Rome tradition, the ides of March was the perfect time to begin the war campaigns. Related to this context, it is considered that the red string of Mărţişor signifies the vitality, while the white one is the symbol of victory.

Red is the colour of fire, blood, and the symbol of life, associated with the woman. Meanwhile, White is the colour of the cold snow, foamy waters, the clouds, and also of man's wisdom. So, the thread of the Mărţişor represents the union of the feminine and the masculine principles, the vital forces which give birth to the eternal cycle of the nature.

Red and white are also the complementary colours present in all the key traditions of the Daco-Romanian folklore.

George Coşbuc stated, in a research over the Mărţişor, that it is a symbol of fire and light, a symbol of the Sun. Not only the colours, but also the traditional silver coin hanged up from the thread is associated to the Sun. White, the colour of the silver, is also a symbol of power, force. This is only one of the reasons why the Mărţişor is a sacred amulet. The round form of the coin is associated with the round form of the Sun, while the material of it, silver, is associated with the Moon. This is, again, the unity of the masculine and feminine principles, and the eternal movement of the matter.

In the Daco-Romanian folklore, the seasons are attributed symbolic colours: spring is red, summer is green or yellow, autumn is black, and winter is white. This is why one can also say that the Mărţişor thread, knitted in white and red, is a symbol of passing, from the white winter, to the lively spring, associated with fire and blood.

Relation to the Bulgarian Martenitsa

Some ethnographers, especially Romanian, consider the clearly related Mărţişor and Martenitsa as being of Thracian origin, which they believe is attested by archaeological evidence. They argue that the Bulgarian legend concerning the origin of the Martenitsa is nothing more than a late 19th century Romanticinvention, not rooted in the past. They argue that Martenitsa was the result of Romanian influence on Bulgarian traditional culture (see also Căluşari, Kukeri, etc.)

Theories in Bulgaria

According to one of the several proposed legends about the Martenitsa in Bulgaria, the custom has roots in the late seventh century. This legend, first attested in the 20th century, says that the Bulgar Khan Asparukh wanted to send a message to other Bulgars across the Danube. He tied his letter with a white string to the leg of a white pigeon. The Eastern Romans (i.e. Byzantines) saw the pigeon flying and hurt it with an arrow. It was finally able to deliver the important message but the white string has turned into reddish because of the pigeon's blood. The Bulgars then started to wear this thread.

Another Bulgarian alternative theory completely omits the role of the Bulgars in introducing the Martenitsa into the Balkan folklore, and instead links the custom to the Thracians (but without a Romanian connection)


Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%83r%C5%A3i%C5%9For