===MARTISOR===

[Elena Nastase]

Un martisor dans le premier jour de printemps pour tous nos amis de ce réseau de la part de collège de Bistrita, Roumanie.

Bon courage et bonne santé a tous !!!

[Vincent Mespoulet]

Merci Elena pour ce très beau martisor :)

[AxeL]

qu'est-ce que le martisor?

[Vincent Mespoulet]

Le Martisor est la fête du printemps en Roumanie, Axel: Pour en savoir plus sur le Martisor, tu peux consulter la page réalisée par Smaranda à cette tradition roumaine.

[Elena Nastase]

MĂRŢIŞOR (prononcez "marte-si-chor" ) means the first day of spring, the first flowers who grow in snow, the first birds who return to their nests, the butterflies, the blue sky, the love everywhere and the listening to a good music, like Spring of VIVALDI’s SEASONS...All in all, is the NATURE’s awakening to life and animation after a looooooooong winter...

[Smaranda Avram]

Mărţişor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mărţişor is the traditional celebration of the beginning of the spring in Romania and Moldova, 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,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.

A sample generic Mărţişor
Mărţişor is the symbol of spring and also a celebration on the first of March. Its beginnings are still a mystery, but it is usually said that it originated in ancient Rome, because New Year's Eve was celebrated on the 1st of March (Martius), the month of the war god Mars. He had a double role: both protector of agriculture and of war, so the celebration signified the rebirth of nature. The duality of symbols is kept in the colours of the Mărţişor: white and red, meaning peace and war (it might also symbolize winter and spring).
For the Thracians, Marsyas-Silen, whose cult was related to the vegetation and the land, had the same attributes. The flower and nature celebrations were consecrated to him.
This custom can be found in all areas where Romanians live. Bulgarian neighbours also have an almost identical tradition on the 1 March, called "Martenitsa".