“Spring is a reflection of our soul ’ s

thought and the amulet is one of

the most precious flowers of it.”
 What is a spring amulet?

The amulet signifies a small object tied with a

double colour cord, white and red, which appears in the
Romanian tradition and also in other populations ‘
tradition . Women and girls usually receive this amulet
and it is worn during the entire month of March as a
symbol of the upcoming spring.
The amulet is a symbol of spring, usually of the
nature coming back to life, when all turns green.
Its form was changed. It was originally
symbolized by a coin. Later on its form consisted in a
few small river stones dyed white and red and
stringed in a thread .
Nowadays colourful beads, ceramic and flowers
took its place .
 Spring Amulet’s origins
The amulet festivity can be found in the Balkans, especially in the Bulgarian
area, in Macedonia, and Albania, and also in the Armenian area and the
Megleno-Romanian area.
Its origins are not known well yet, but the presence of the amulet in both
Romanian and Bulgarian tradition can be explained by the fact that both
populations have at the origins the daco-tracic substratum, before the
Romanization at the first ,and the slavicization of the last (although the
legends of the Bulgarian population are said to be connected with their first
territory run by khans at the Danube river, in 681).
 It was also believed that the amulet’s festivity date back from the Roman
Empire ,when the New Year was celebrated on the first day of spring in
March –March meaning the same as Marte, the god of war, but also of the
fertility and of the vegetation. This duality is remarkable in the colours of
the amulet, red meaning war and white peace.
Archaeological research done in Romania, at Schela Caldovei , showed
similar amulets believed to have appeared approximately 8000 years ago.
 Legends
.

It is believed, according to the

legend, that the beautiful Spring went to
a forest and noticed the first snowdrop,
as a sign of the coming spring.
She decided to help the little
snowdrop to see the light , by
removing the snow and tearing
the branches which didn’t let it
see the world.
Winter saw that and in a furious
attack called the wind and the
frost to freeze the flower.
Spring covered the snowdrop
with the hand, but she hurt
herself at a finger in a branch. A
drop of blood was running out of
that finger, which, falling on the
snowdrop, made it revive .
Spring defeated Winter , and the amulet’s colours signify
Spring ‘s blood flowed on the snow.
 Martenita-Мартеница
On 1st March, the Bulgarians offer and wear the amulets "martenita'’ ,
which is said to bring luck. Bulgarian tradition says it must be tied on the
joint of the hand or attached to the coat lapel until winter leaves.
The Bulgarians wear the amulets during the entire month of March in this
way: unmarried girls wear them on the left side of the dress, spinsters on
the little finger of the left hand and the married men at the right sock. As a
weather forecast, the amulets are tied on trees which soon are going to
blossom. This marks the transition between spring and winter and
everyone hopes that everything will be better than the previous year.
 Hag MARTA
The Bulgarians’ hag is an old helpless woman who has an iron bar
as a support. The Bulgarians believe that her temperament varies:
when Marta smiles, the sun shines, and when she is upset, the
nature becomes very bad.

It is believed that a person will be

healthy the whole year if he wears
“martenita”, based on the following
proverb :

”If you don’t wear an amulet, Hag

Marta will bring all the evil spirits in
your house.”
 Romanians also have a hag, Dochia, who had a
daughter –in-law whom she hated. One cold day, Dochia sent
her daughter-in-law to the river to clean a dirty coat until it
becomes as white as snow.
The poor girl was scared and frozen and she began
to cry because the coat became more and more black instead
of white, when he, the Amulet, appeared. A young man offered
her a fresh flower and sent her home telling her “Everything will
be ok” .
 When she arrived home , the coat had a
brilliant white colour. After seeing the flower in the
girl’s hair, Hag Dochia thought that the spring had
come and went to the mountains with the sheep .
She travelled many days. The weather was
getting warmer and warmer and Dochia, who wore
between 6 and 12 sheepskin coats, took them off
one by one.

On top of the mountain, after she had taken off all

her coats , suddenly it got cold and then she saw the
Amulet. He started to scold Dochia for her cold attitude
towards the girl. Her sheep were made into stones.
This legend is the basic idea of which everyone
believed that Amulet had something to do with the
relation between good and evil , where, obviously, the
good wins.
According to some traditions , the cord, also called
the rope of the year, was spun on Dochia’ s way to the
top of the mountain.
 Spring Amulet’s symbols
Each year we offer or we receive amulets on 1st March. The amulet also
means the popular name of the month, which announces the beginning of
spring .The cord knitted from the two threads symbolizes winter and spring .
It also symbolizes the renewal of the time and of the year. In the latin and
geto-dacic tradition, the New Year was celebrated on 1st March. Therefore
“the month of God Marte =March” was the first month of the year and the
calendar stated only two seasons : summer and winter.
The colours of the cord are also found in other traditional symbols such as:
the flag of “Calusari’, wedding tree, the ornament for young men and so on.
It is said that the person who wears an amulet on the chest will be healthy
and lucky all the year long. ‘The symbol of spring’ is worn 12 days in some
regions, in others until 9th March and in others until they see the trees
blossom or the first stork.
Red symbolizes the love for all the beautiful things , and white is purity,
health and snowdrop, the first flower of spring.
Similarities between Romanian
and Bulgarian tradition of the
amulet
Both of them are more than 800 years old
The amulet is composed by the two colours: red and white.
Both countries celebrate it on 1st March
Both traditions have a special hag according to the amulet’s legend
The amulet defines spring
The Hags start on 1st March
 Differences between
Romanian and Bulgarian
tradition of the amulet
Romanian tradition says that only men offer the amulet , consisted in a
small object attached to the cord (the name is ,,mărţişor”)
Bulgarian tradition says that even men an boys can receive amulets, which
are represented by the cord itself; their amulet’s name is “martenita”
Romanian amulet has varied forms , it can be almost everything (chimney-
sweep, ladybird, horseshoe, clover, etc)
Bulgarians maintain the cord only , but sometimes its end can be
drawn as a boy and a girl
Romanians wear this about a week
Bulgarians wear it at the joint of the hand and take it off when they see a
stork or when the trees blossom and they tie the cord on a branch and
make a wish
Romanians relate the amulet to the legend of hag Dochia
Bulgarians relate it to hag Marta, which is celebrated on the very 1st March.
 Spring Amulets
The spring amulet is a unique tradition
in south-east Europe. Besides
Romanians, all the other Balkan
nations celebrate this festivity. Each of
them has their particular way to
celebrate it and also their particular
amulets.