Martisor

Today is the first of March, a traditional folk holiday in Romania going back centuries. Nobody really knows its origins, although some postulate that it dates back to ancient Rome to mark the beginning of the New Year. It used to be celebrated by men and women giving each other small nickel medallions which they would wear tied to their shirt or blouse with red and white string. Both the holiday and the talisman are called Martisor (mur tsi shore), meaning "little" or "dear" March. The medallions (martisoare is the plural) were meant to symbolize the coming of spring and grant health and prosperity for the new year. Nowadays it is celebrated by men giving martisoare to women, who wear them for up to two weeks. Supposedly the more martisoare a woman displays, the more she is loved. Craftsmen make contemporary martisoare from all manner of materials (wood, glass, metal, cloth, pottery, plastic, even orange peel) and they take all manner of shapes, from animals to flowers and small representations of peasants.

Earlier this week I saw ads in the metro for a market at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant where you could buy martisoare, so on Wednesday I sneakily went there while S. was having her tutoring session and bought nine--then, we both went with our Fulbright friend Andy on Saturday to check out the market (I had to pretend I hadn't been there yet to keep the surprise for S.). The place was PACKED with people, and we had to wait in line for tickets for about 10-12 minutes. Once inside, it was fun to browse all the different tables with martisoare, and I even managed to purchase a couple more for S. without her knowing! We also bought some more of that delicious Hungarian sweet bread (Kurtos kolacs) and a liter of apple juice that we hope to use with the package of Aspen mulling spices we brought back from Christmas.

This morning while S. was occupied with other things, I hid the martisoare about the apartment, and told her she had to find some surprises, like hunting for Easter eggs. I think she enjoyed it--here are some pictures of them!