In Romania, the most superstitious ones say that the person who finds a horseshoe has to throw it over his/her shoulder or place it on one of the house’s walls for good luck. Later these ornaments were shaped to resemble various images such as four-leaf clover, ladybug, snowdrop etc. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Nobody dared to confront the dragon, until one day when a young man went to the dragon’s castle and fought him. Some women choose to wear the martisor all March as it is believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be strong and healthy in the year to come.

Amounts shown in italicised text are for items listed in currency other than Euros and are approximate conversions to Euros based upon Bloomberg's conversion rates.Traditionally boys give to girls, as gifts, the ‘Martisor’ symbol; nevertheless, there are several regions in Romania where the girls are the ones to offer „martisoare” to the boys.

In particular it is connected to the days of " Baba Dochia", a mythological figure in Romanian folklore, and March, which in antiquity was the start of the year. Although all these small items are special in their own way, some martisoare have remained more popular among Romanians, mainly due to what they represent.The tradition is placed along with other spring celebrations marking the year's cycle: agricultural communities associated it with the end of winter and start of spring. So they tied together two flowers, one white, to symbolize spring and rebirth, a new chance for humankind, and one red in remembrance of the lad’s sacrifice, and of his love for freedom and a fair chance in life for everyone. st of March, 1 Martie Martisor, especially the red and white thread, is still alive in Romania, and everywhere a Romanian heart beats, but also in the lands once populated by the Thracian tribes such as Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, North of Macedonia, Greece, and within Romanian communities from Serbia and Ukraine. Their reputation of lucky charms might be long gone, but their design seems more eye-catching than ever. Do fashion it if you don’t have an old one, wear it, the plain red and white entwined strings, before your feet even touch the ground on the morning of the 1st of March.

From March 1st to March 8th, when Romania celebrates Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, everything revolves around these tiny gifts.Dochia mistreats her daughter-in-law sending her to pick berries in the woods at the end of February. The most popular flowers in this period are the snowdrops and tulips, as they are said to show that the end of winter is close. Also, some say that, because of its crescent shape, the horseshoe has the ability to ward off the evil eye. When Dochia sees the fruits she believes that spring has come and leaves for the mountains with her son and her flock.