Mărţişor
Presented
by Gabriela Pop, grade 4B, Scoala Gimnaziala "Vasile Alecsandri" Baia Mare
March
1st, the 1st spring day, is Dochia [Dokia]. Dochia is, in the Romanian
folklore, an old evil woman, the personification of the atmospheric instability
of the “old women’s days” (babă = old woman). According to tradition, nine days
before the beginning of March, people choose one day with oracular role. It is
said that the way the chosen day is, whether sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy or if
there is a storm, the same will be the year of the person who chose that day is
his/her “babă”.
So,
on the first of March people make the „mărţişor” [mărtzi∫or]: a red and a white
thread are plaited to become a red and white string which is then worn to bring
good health, good luck and happiness. The white symbolizes purity and the red symbolizes
the life blood.
The
„mărţişor”, plaited by girls, is worn till St. George, when it is tied to a
branch of a rose bush or of a blooming cherry tree, to bring good luck to the
person who has worn it, so that that person has the beauty and graciousness of
the flowers.
In
some parts of Romania, the plaited string is kept as a talisman against the
evil eye, as it comes from Dochia, and people use this string to wash
themselves.
This
symbol represents reminiscence since ancient times, when spring meant the
beginning of the New Year, when all nature came back to life.
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