The red-and-white thread of 1 March
On 1 March people in Romania and Moldova give each other a mărțișor, and in Bulgaria a martenitsa: a red-and-white cord, often with a small charm, worn for health and luck as spring arrives.
Here you pick a charm, write a spring wish and send it as a link. It opens as the token swinging on its cord, with your wish beside it.
How to send one
A minute, no account.
Pick a charm for the cord.
Write a spring wish, and the names if you like.
Make the link and send it on 1 March.
What is on the card
Small and red-and-white.
- Six charms: clover, ladybird, snowdrop, horseshoe, heart, Pizho and Penda
- Your wish, up to 200 characters
- Names for whom and from whom
- A token that swings on its cord
- Nothing stored: the card lives in the link
Made for
Anyone you would pin a mărțișor on.
Romanian and Bulgarian friends far from home.
Colleagues on 1 March.
Mothers, sisters and teachers.
A class greeting for spring.
How the link works
The charm, the wish and the names are written into the part of the link after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server.
Anyone with the link can open the card; nobody else can.
Good to know
The link is the card: if it is lost, make a new one.
Long wishes are cut at 200 characters.
Tips
- Send it in the morning of 1 March, as the custom goes.
- Pick a snowdrop for someone who waits for spring the most.
Mărțișor questions
What is a mărțișor?
A red-and-white cord, often with a small charm, given on 1 March in Romania and Moldova; in Bulgaria the same custom is the martenitsa.
How long is it worn?
Through March in Romania; in Bulgaria until you see a stork or a blossoming tree, where you then tie it.
Is my mărțișor card stored anywhere?
No. Everything is inside the link.
Who are Pizho and Penda?
The white boy and the red girl of Bulgarian martenitsas, one of the best-known forms of the token.