Mărțișor, An Old Tradition

Sometimes we tend to forget that time is flying but there are certain events to remind us of that. Last night I was thinking that this will be my third Mărțișor post on Steem, which means this is my third year on Steem.

I still remember my Mărțișor post in 2018, when I started to discover what a wonderful opportunity we have here to learn about different cultures from all over the world. The same time one of the Bulgarian Steemians, @nelinoeva, my neighbors posted about this tradition in her country. I didn't know they have this tradition, now I know.

Today I went to the Mărțișor fair to take some photos for my post and I'd like to share what I saw with you, as my entry to #MarketFriday challenge, hosted by @dswigle.

What Is Mărțișor?

Mărțișor is a celebration at the beginning of spring, on March the 1st in Romania, Moldova, and all territories inhabited by Romanians and Moldovans.
The word Mărțișor is the diminutive of Marț, the old folk name for March (martie, in modern Romanian), and thus literally means "little March".
Mărțișor, marț and mărțiguș are all names for the red and white string with hanging tassel customarily given on the 1st day of March. In the olden times, the string could be red and white. Giving this talisman to people is an old custom, and it is believed that the wearer will be strong and healthy for the year to come. It is also a symbol of the coming spring.
source

As I said, it's an old spring welcoming tradition that takes place on March the 1st but nowadays it's more like a symbol of love and friendship. Men are giving women these mărțișoare (plural of mărțișor) and in some cases flowers as well.

When I Was In Elementary School

I remember we all were looking forward to this day as it meant spring was coming, the weather was slowly warming up, we got to change our clothes to more comfortable ones and maybe get some new ones as we were growing and growing out of our old clothes.

It was a special day for us girls at school as we got these little spring symbols and was an honor to have as many as possible. It was like a challenge. The most popular girls got the most, obviously. We pinned them on our coat and wore them for a weak or so.

The mărțișoare we got back then were very different from what we have today. Those were really symbolizing spring and fortune. The most common were snowdrop flowers, clovers, chimney sweeps, horseshoes, ladybugs, coins etc.

At The Market Today

Today I was on a mission, I wanted to capture the market, to show you these beauties but I said I'm going to photograph only the handmade ones, that are artworks. The rest does not interest me. At these markets you can find all kinds of things, that sometimes have nothing to do with the old tradition and are kitschy.

These are hand painted on wood. I love how all are flowers, symbolizing spring.

Heart shaped mărțișoare, with hand painted flowers. These were also cute and original. I had the chance to have a chat with the vendor and found out these are made by his wife. Looks like the wife is the artist and the husband is responsible for selling them. I asked him what is the material that is painted on and he said coconut shell. I would have never guessed, honestly.

Another set of cuteness that made me smile. These bracelets were also super cute. People in folk costumes painted on coconut shell. Usually the mărțișor is a brooch but nowadays you can see all kinds of things. Below the bracelets you can see figurines made of wood, hand painted, dressed in folk costumes.

The label says miniature paintings, which they are. The heart shaped ones are painted on wood, the rest on eggshell. This is a special kind of art. I'm always seeing their eggshell paintings at these fairs and am always admiring her skills. Imagine painting on such a small surface, that is not even flat. You need special skills and a lot of determination to create such wonderful artworks.

Now comes the fun part. These are coconut shell pieces of all shapes, also hand painted, mostly flowers.

While I was admiring them was thinking of what I would paint on them but I don't think I could do such lovely things.

This is the photo for you if you want to see some real creativity. Pistachio shells glued on paper and painted as part of the face of chimney sweepers.

I find these not only funny but very original. This woman is really talented. Her works were the most beautiful and original of all.

These are from another artist. Those ladies were funny, it's the first time I see these.

These are made of resin and what I loved about them was the design. All kinds of cute animals.

Last but not least, some odd products. Feathers with pearls. I've never seen these before and honestly I find it very strange for this occasion.

This is the first part of my presentation, stay tuned, next week I'm going to post the rest of my photos. This is my contribution to #marketfriday hosted by @dswigle.