About: Mărțișor

Mărțișor is a tradition celebrated at the beginning of Spring in March, involving an object made from two intertwined red and white strings with hanging tassel in Romania and Moldova, very similar to Martenitsa tradition in Bulgaria and Martinka in North Macedonia and traditions of other populations from Southeastern Europe. The word Mărțișor is the diminutive of marț, the old folk name for March, and literally means "little March". Modern tradition involves wearing the small object on the chest like a brooch or a lapel pin, during the first part of the month, starting from 1 March. Some older traditions held it should be worn from the first new moon of March until next significant holiday for the local community, which could be anywhere between 9 March and 1 May, or until first tree flowers blossomed, depending on the area. It was also more commonly worn tied around the wrist or like a necklace.