Wednesday, March 2, 2011

March 1st- Martisor (Romania)


Pronounced Martz-E-shore, it is the celebration of the start of Spring in Romania. The ancient story of Martisor tells of a hero’s red blood falling on the white snow causing the sun to return and put an end to the eternal Winter. That is why the colors of this holiday are red and white. The most prominent symbols of Martisor are the snowdrop flower and the Martisor, an intertwined piece red and white thread. Girls tie the red and white thread Martisor in their hair and wear it for sometimes up to 2 weeks before tying it to a tree for good luck and fruitful crops in the coming season. 
To celebrate the holiday, I dressed in red and white and made my own Martisor out of red and white ribbon (pictured below).  I waited until today to hang the home-made Martisor in a tree for good luck (also pictured below). 

I wore my Martisor in my hair like this all day.


My Martisor tied to a tree in my backyard. 


Sources: 


2 comments:

  1. Hi Ari,

    I like reading about what people celebrate and how they do it. In today's world, where there is hardly a difference remaining between the sacred and the profane, it is reassuring to have a day dedicated to an idea that that those who celebrate see as "special".

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