ForsakenOrder

Oh, yes, finally Spring came! Us, Romanians, have a special way of traditionally celebrating the beginning of the Spring, on March the 1st. It’s called “mărţişor” and you can translate it like “little March”. Basically, men offer women a talisman object, consisting of a jewel or a small decoration like a flower, an animal, a heart, tied to a red and white string. It is believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be powerful and healthy for the year to come. Yay! I’m gonna wear a dozen! It looks like this:

and it is usually worn pinned to your blouse on this day (March 1st) and up to two weeks after.

There are a few legends that explain this beautiful tradition. One of the old Romanian legends says that once in a fight with the winter witch, that didn’t want to give up its place, the beautiful lady Spring cut her finger and few drops of her blood fall on the snow, which melt. Soon on this place grew a snowdrop and in such a way the spring won the winter. I know…Romanians are veeery fairy-tale-ish!

The white and red string can also be worn tied around your wrist (just like the Kabbalah red string, but no connection whatsoever) as a symbol of protection.

This martisor is dedicated to my best friend, Aleera. May you never hear “Yes, Ma’am!” again, unless it comes from your hubby when you…you know what!