Martisor Fair at Romanian Peasant Museum until March 1

The Traditional Martisor Fair will be held since this Saturday to March 1, at the National Peasant Museum. The “martisor” has been mentioned by ethnologists at the beginning of the 20th century, not only in Romania but also in Bulgaria and Albania.

The “martisor”is the symbol of nature rebirth and marks the coming of spring. It is made of a white and red thread symbolizing the fight between contrasts – night and day, life and death, illness and health, winter and summer.

This custom is repeated by peasants in early spring as a protective sign against illness and bad luck.

Children have a silver coin tied to their wrists and a red and white wool thread to guard them from illness, while trees and cattle were tied with a red and white thread to be healthy and fruitful.

The custom became a fashion , the wool/cotton thread turned into silver or gold and the story of “martisor” has surviveed and various forms in our days, from a simple thread to the virtual “martisor”.

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