Baba Dochia - New Page 3

It is the traditional celebration of the beginning of
the spring in Romania, on 1st March. The day's
name is the diminutive of March (in Romanian
Martie). Nowadays, men offer women a
talisman object also
called Martisor,
consisting of a jewel or a
small decoration like a
flower, an animal or a
heart, tied to a red
and white string.
It was believed that the one wearing the red and white
string would be powerful and healthy for the year to
come. The decoration is a symbol of the coming spring.
A woman wears it pinned to her blouse on this day and
up to two weeks after. In some parts of Romania such as
Moldova or Bukovina the symbol of spring
was a gold or silver
medal which was worn
around the neck. After
wearing the coin for twelve
days, they bought sweet
cheese with the medal,
because it was believed
that their faces would
remain beautiful and white
the entire year.
Martisor is the symbol of spring and also a celebration on the first of March.
Its beginnings are still a mystery, but it is usually said that it originated in
ancient Rome, because New Year's Eve was
celebrated on the 1st of March (Martius),
the month of the war god Mars. He had a
double role: both protector of agriculture
and of war, so the celebration signified
the rebirth of nature. The duality of
symbols is kept in the colours of the
Martisor: white and red, meaning peace and
war (it might also symbolize winter and spring).
In Romanian mythology, Baba Dochia, or The Old Dokia, is a
name originating from the Byzantine calendar which celebrates
the Martyr Evdokia on 1 March. The Romanian Dokia personifies
mankind's impatience in waiting for the return of spring.
Baba Dochia has a son, called Dragomir or Dragobete, who is
married. Dochia ill-treats her daughter-in-law by sending her to
pick up berries in the forest at the end of February. God appears
to the girl as an old man and helps her in her task. When Dochia
sees the berries, she thinks that spring has come back and leaves
for the mountains with her son and her goats.
She
is dressed with twelve lambskins, but it rains on the
mountain and the skins get soaked and heavy. Dochia has to get
rid of the skins and when frost comes she perishes from the
cold with her goats. Her son freezes to death with a piece of
ice in his mouth as he was playing the flute.
In
other sources, Dochia was the daughter(or sister) of
Decebalus, King of the Dacians. When the Roman Emperor
Trajan conquered part of the Dacian territory, Dochia seek
refuge in the Carpathian Mountains in order to avoid marrying
him. She disguised herself as a shepherd but she took off her
lambskin garments and freezes to death with her herd. She was
transformed into a stream and her animals into flowers.
In the calendar, there are 9 days associated with the 9 coats she's
shedding, from March 1 to March 9. Her spirit is haunting every
year around that time, bringing snowstorms and cold weather
before the spring sets in. Women use to pick a day out of these 9
beforehand, and if the day turns out to be fair, they'll be fair in
their old days, and if the day turns out to be cold, they'll turn
bitter when older.
In Romania on March 8th
celebrates the woman,
joy of life and our
motivation to live. Until December
'89 it was talked about Mothers’ day,
occasion when there were organized
shows devoted to mothers.
After the 1989 Revolution the notion of
mother's day is replaced with the woman’s.
Day of March 8 is filled with flowers, smiles and
love. In this day women, whether mothers or not, they are
celebrated by the spouses, children, friends and relatives.