Martisor

Today, March 1st, it is MARTISOR day in Romania. ( I guess you can read that : martzeeshor, or something like that).
Tradition says that men must give to the women they love (wife, mother, sister.......) a token of their feelings hung onto a cord made of red and white thread. Sure, nowadays the tradition has evolved and both women and men can give a MARTISOR to the people close to their heart.
These two colours simbolize the two seasons that coexist : red for winter (the fire in the fireplace) and white for the purity and rebirth of nature.
You must wear this MARTISOR for nine days and after that hang it on the branches of a tree. If the tree is healthy and grows many leaves and flowers, the person will have a full and happy year.


Also, there is a legend about these first nine days of March. The legend of the old hag Dochia.
And it goes like this.
Dochia had a dayghter-in-law she hated. One day she sent her to the river to wash a dirty jacket. But the young woman, as much as she tried to, couldn't get the jacket clean and she could barely move her hands because of the cold water of the river. Suddenly a young man appeared. His name was MARTISOR. He found out what had happened and gave the young woman a flower with red and white petals. He told her that he could do magic things and that if she would wash the jacket once more, it would be clean. And he was right.
So the young woman went home to Dochia. But Dochia saw the flower her daughter-in-law had, and since she wouldn't tell her were she got it from, Dochia went to the mountains with her sheep to find one.
When she left, it was really cold outside, so she got dressed with nine jackets. But it got warmer and warmer, so Dochia threw away one jacket each day. In the nineth day she had no jacket to wear and it suddenly got very, very cold.
Then, MARTISHOR appeared to her and asked her if she could imagine how cold her daughter-in-law must have been while she washed the jacket in the river. He also told her that he was responsible for that terribly cold day, and disappeared.
Dochia wandered for a while and froze to death.
And then...................spring came. Thanks to MARTISOR.

Ok, Dochia's end might sound a bit too rough, but Romanians are punished severely for their mistakes. At least in these stories.

One more thing. You must choose a day between the 1st and the 9th of March. You call that day your "old hag". Don't laugh! If the day is sunny and warm, you will have a good year. Well........if it is cold and rainy, I guess it won't be that nice.
My "old hag " is on the 4th. Hope it will be a nice old hag!