Mărțișor is a tradition that has been celebrated in Romania for thousands of years! A long time ago, Romania was part of the ancient Roman empire, and the tradition of Mărțișor can be traced back to when ancient Romans were living in this region. The ancient Romans celebrated the new year on March 1st. During this celebration, the ancient Romans honored the Roman god Mars, who was the god of agriculture and war. Some historians believe that the red thread of the mărțișoare symbolizes war or blood, and the white thread symbolizes peace. Another way we can trace this tradition back to the history of ancient Rome is by looking at the name Mărțișor, and the name Mars. Do these two names look or sound similar to you? Well, they should! Mărțișor literally means "little March" in Romanian, and the ancient Romans named the month of March after the god Mars. Isn't it fascinating what words can teach us about the traditions and history of a culture?
When looking at how Mărțișor was celebrated, historically, one can clearly see how this tradition was connected to its environment. For example, thousands of years ago, people living in Romania would make mărțișoare out of small river pebbles. Instead of using red and white thread, they painted the river pebbles red and white. Then, would attach a string to the pebble to make a necklace. This act of creating mărțișoare from river pebbles shows how Romanian people would use resources from their environment to celebrate this holiday.
