România - Customs and Traditions

Martisor"

Is the common name not too easy to pronounce by foreigners - of the month of March, but also of a custom, which symbolizes that spring has come. To emphasize this event better, an amulet has appeared: first a cod made of two threads of cotton, white and red tied to a pierced gold or silver coin. It was offered to children, girls and women. The color red symbolized the blood and life itself, while white, the purity of the sun and the first flowers. The gift was meant to bring health, beauty - in fact the three main conditions of happiness.

In the various areas of the country, this custom was kept differently: in some places the people wore this amulet, beginning on March 1, for 9 days until All Saints' Day, in others until Easter. Young girls used to throw the amulet towards the sun so that they might get rid of freckles.

Here, in Romania, the first days of spring are inconceivable without the image of "Baba Dochia". According to the legend the old lady was said to have worn either 12 or 9 coats, which she began to remove at the beginning of March, usually with changes in the weather. Sunny days were often followed by rain, and occasionally there might even have been some sleet. The legend also tells us that "Baba Dochia" had three special moments of her own: March, 1 - a time for sowing; March, 2 - dedicated to summer's work;finally March, 3 - representing the harvest in the autumn. Depending on how each day's weather turned out, one could expect similar conditions during the three seasons to come. A few, of course, resist the temptation of choosing a "Baba" during these first days of March,for if the day is clear and sunny, it means you are blessed with a pure and kind soul and everything will be good for you.

There's another part of the legend concerning the amulet that tells of "Baba Dochia" wandering with her herd through the hills and valleys. Like other Romanian peasant women of that time, she also used her time to spin wool. Upon finding a coin, she made a hole in the coin and passed a thread of wool through it. In time, various symbols began to replace this that initial coin. Today there are dogs an elephants signs of the zodiac butterflies, little hearts and flowers, keys an horseshoes, masks an dwarfs...an endless world in miniature can be created for an amulet until it is finally given on March 1, perhaps with a little bunch of snowdrops or violets.

Spring customs

The Romanian spring brings with it, besides the mild wind of revival, the charm of some ancient customs. Easter is definitely the most important of all. Easter and Christmas, in the cold season, offer the most significant events of the Romanian customs. The Christian Church says that Yesus was born during the winter solstice and his death followed by his resurrection happened during the spring equinox, the Easter.