foto_martisor1.htmlMărţişor

Every year the festive day of March 1 brings back to us renewed hopes, confidence, faith in good fortune and a prosperous life. It is life, spring and the shining sun which win the battle against chilly weather, overcast skies and the nasty days of the Babe (the first 9 days in March).
This triumph of rebirth and regeneration could not be better embodied but in the Martisor ( a trinket, March amulet) offered to loved ones in early spring.
The white and red thread of this amulet (a coin, money cowrie) which parents customarily tied around their children's wrist, young men offered to young women, and young women used to exchange among themselves was believed to bring good luck, good health, "like pure silver, like the river stone, like the seashell".

The Martisor is offered early morning on the first day of March; it used to be worn for 9-12 days, sometimes until the first tree would bloom when it was hung on a flowering branch to bring good luck to its bearer.

http://www.e-scoala.ro/martie/foto_martisor1.html