Martisor and Woman's Day

March is a fabulous month to be a woman in Romania. There are two specific holidays, one week apart, which honor women.

Before continuing to read, I must make a confession. I attempted to type my own explanation of Martisor and realized it was lacking. So, being the teacher that I am, I decided to use my resources and google it! The following is an explanation of Martisor, one which is better than I could have ever conjured up.....

Mărţişor (Romanian: little March) is the traditional celebration of the beginning of the spring (and until 1701 of the New Year) in Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria on 1 March.

The day's name is the diminutive of March (in Romanian Martie), and thus means something like "little" or "dear March". Nowadays, men offer women a talisman object also called Mărţişor, consisting of a jewel or a small decoration like a flower, an animal or a heart, tied to a red and white string. However, giving a little nickel tied to a red and white string is an old custom and was originally designated for both men and women. It was believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be powerful and healthy for the year to come.

The decoration is a symbol of the coming spring. A woman wears it pinned to her blouse on this day and up to two weeks after. Occasionally, women also give such gifts to men. In some parts of Romania such as Moldova or Bukovina the symbol of spring was a gold or silver medal which was worn around the neck. After wearing the coin for twelve days, they bought sweet cheese with the medal, because it was believed that their faces would remain beautiful and white the entire year.

The other day, which is more widely known, is Woman's Day! This takes place on March 8th. This is like the Mother's Day of the world. Once again, women reap the rewards of carrying the xy chromosone. On this day, I received flowers as did many others! Could it really get any better????