March 1st marks the first official day of spring in Romania, and in common with many other countries, there are a whole host of traditions to mark this momentous day, the most notable of which is Mârţişor.

Perhaps it is because Romanians are still so close to their agrarian past in many ways, despite the overt urbanisation of the cities, that these traditions are still so strongly held here.  Even in the cities, tiny patches of land behind apartment blocks are transformed by the cultivation of tomatoes, peppers or potatoes, and in the rural villages houses are surrounded by vines, fruit trees and extensive vegetable patches.  Many villagers keep turkeys, chickens and pigs in their yards.

The relative harshness of the winters must also play its part in encouraging people to look forward to the promise of new life that is embodied by the coming of spring.  So it is that on the first day of the season, street sellers spring up all over the pavements of the city selling the characteristic entwined red and white bows, and bunches of snowdrops to give away to ladies and young women.

It is believed that Mârţişor (roughly pronounced ‘mertsi-shore’) has its origins in Roman times.  The mythical tale that inspires the tradition concerns an evil goblin who stole the sun at the beginning of summer and locked it in a dungeon.  A young and brave warrior set off on a journey to the goblin’s castle to free the sun.  The journey lasted three seasons – through summer, autumn and winter – but at long last, the adventurer arrived at the goblin’s fortress and, after a terrible battle, succeeded in freeing the sun which rose up into the sky and warmed the earth to begin the spring.  Sadly the young warrior received a mortal wound in the battle, and it is from the red of his last drops of blood spilling to the white, snow-covered ground that the traditional Mârţişor twisted red and white threads were conceived.

In the past, the tradition was celebrated across Romania using pebbles painted in red and white and hung on strings, but over time this has been transformed into the woven threads we see today.  The Mârţişor gift is a simple bow made of these threads, often hung with small plastic objects or charms.  They are exchanged to show love, affection and friendship, and men will give little bunches of snowdrops to women along with the bow.

The bows are worn for the first nine days of the month, which are called the ‘Nine Old Ladies’.  Each person can choose one of these days every year, and tradition dictates that if the weather is good on the day that you choose, then your whole year will be a good one!

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