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Next: 1 Mar 2027

Mărțișor and Baba Marta

A red and white thread given on 1 March, worn until the first stork or blossom is seen, to bring health and spring.

A pattern drawn for this day, not a photograph.

When is Mărțișor and Baba Marta in 2027?

Mărțișor and Baba Marta 2027 is on Monday, 1 March 2027. Other years: 2026, Sunday, 1 March 2026; 2028, Wednesday, 1 March 2028.

About Mărțișor and Baba Marta

On 1 March, people in Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and North Macedonia exchange tiny tokens made of twisted red and white thread, called mărțișor in Romanian and martenitsa in Bulgarian. Men give them to women, and children give them to family and friends, with wishes of health and a good year. They are pinned to clothes or tied to the wrist and worn through March, until the wearer sees the first stork, swallow or blossoming tree, when it is hung from the branch of a fruit tree, so that it brings fertility. In Bulgaria the custom is linked to Baba Marta, "Grandmother March", a bad-tempered old woman whose mood changes the weather in the changeable month. UNESCO has recognised the tradition.

Mărțișor and Baba Marta dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearMărțișor and Baba Marta date
2026Sunday, 1 March 2026
2027Monday, 1 March 2027
2028Wednesday, 1 March 2028

What is eaten

  • pogacha
  • cozonac

Traditions of Mărțișor and Baba Marta

MartenitsaThe Bulgarian thread.MărțișorThe Romanian token.Baba MartaThe folkloric figure.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Mărțișor" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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