Greek Early Spring Traditions

Martis in Greece

On March 1^st it is customary for mothers or teachers at school to braid bracelets for the children. These bracelets for the children are called “Martis”. The word derives from the Greek word Martios, which is the month of March. It is made from embroidery floss. Depending on which part of Greece you are from, there are several variations of this tradition.

In some places in Greece, people make the bracelets out of any colour string they want. The bracelets are worn until the Midnight Mass of the Greek Orthodox Easter. Then they cut them off of their wrists and tie them to the spit of the lamb that they will roast the other day on bonfires. Parents or grandparents always tell, “ See, your bracelets will burn up and disappear just like our sins do because of Christ’s Resurrection.”

 

In central Greece the children make their bracelets using only red and white, to symbolize the blood of Christ’s Crucifixion and his Resurrection. Also, they wear these bracelets so that the sun of early spring doesn’t burn their cheeks. The bracelet is red and white, symbolic of rosy cheeks yet a white complexion. 

In other areas of Greece, they do not tie their bracelets to the spit of the lamb but leave them outside for the swallows to build their nests. 

Children in kindergartens would sometimes pack a picnic lunch and go fly kites at the park and make their bracelets there. It is a lot of fun and it makes it feel like a sort of celebration. Any way you celebrate it, it is a fun tradition that children look forward to.

Popi Chantzi, Greece