PHOTO // Mărțișor included in Lithuania’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Mărțișor celebration has been included in Lithuania’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The decision was taken by the Commission of the Lithuanian National Cultural Center. President of the Romanian Language and Culture Association Dacia Lucia Andrievschi Bartkienė said that this represents a historic recognition.

“For 37 years, the Romanian Language and Culture Association ‘Dacia’ has kept this beautiful tradition alive in Lithuania – Mărțișor – a heritage that has united us and strengthened our identity to this day. This year’s edition is, however, truly special. As we know, in 2017 the tradition of Mărțișor was included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Today, we are immensely pleased to announce that the Commission of the Lithuanian National Cultural Center has recently decided to include the traditional Mărțișor celebration in Lithuania’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List as well. Congratulations to everyone for this historic recognition!” said Lucia Andrievschi Bartkienė.

A 37-year story and a historic recognition

The first Mărțișor celebration in Vilnius took place on March 1, 1989, shortly after the founding meeting of Dacia Association, held on February 12, 1989. Since then, year after year, people have gathered to mark the arrival of spring, says Lucia Bartkienė.

“Our visual memory began to take shape in 1993, when the first celebration was filmed by the BTV (TV Baltica) station, where I worked as a reporter together with my husband, who was a cameraman. Starting in 1998, the events organized by Dacia Association were regularly broadcast by the national television LRT. Over the years, we have published around 20 articles about Mărțișor tradition in Lithuanian, especially in the magazine News of National Communities. One copy of each issue is now archived at Lithuania’s Martynas Mažvydas National Library. Our activity has always had an educational dimension, addressing Romanians and Moldovans as well as Lithuanians,” stated Lucia Bartkienė.

The road to including Mărțișor in Lithuania’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Lucia Bartkienė stressed that the inclusion of Mărțișor in UNESCO List in 2017 was the impulse that led them to preserve and assess their data archive and to prepare the file for the inclusion of Mărțișor in Lithuania’s national heritage, even though the process initially seemed complicated.

“With the support of the Department for National Communities in Lithuania, we managed to complete this difficult file. It was a challenge to translate and explain complex cultural definitions from Romanian into Lithuanian. We had essential support from our first proofreader and mentor, my husband Remigijus Bartkus, an honorary member of our association, as well as from the volume ‘Under the Sign of Mărțișor,’ donated by the Bureau for Relations with the Diaspora (BRD),” added Lucia Bartkienė.

This year, Dacia Association plans to publish a jubilee brochure dedicated to the 37 years of Mărțișor in Lithuania.

Mărțișor 2026 – celebrated in a special way in Vilnius

Mărțișor was celebrated in a special way this year in Vilnius. The Romanian Language and Culture Association Dacia prepared an extensive artistic program that brought together members of the diaspora from several Lithuanian cities: Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Kedainiai and Pasvalys. Students from the Erasmus program, representatives of various national communities, staff of the House of National Communities and of the Department for National Minorities, as well as representatives of the Lithuanian National Cultural Center also attended. The event was joined by Adriana Ceamba, Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Lithuania, and Emil Druc, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the Republic of Lithuania.

The program included a performance by pianist Alexandra Calalb, born in the Republic of Moldova. 

During Mărțișor events, Loreta Sungailienė, specialist at the Lithuanian National Cultural Center announced that the official certificate confirming the inclusion of the traditional Mărțișor celebration in Lithuania’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List will be presented on May 19.

Mărțișor is a traditional symbol of spring that marks the rebirth of nature and continuity of folk customs. Initially, it was made from a twisted red and white thread, worn on the wrist to protect the wearer and bring health and good luck.

Over time, Mărțișor has evolved while preserving its link to local values and customs. In 2017, Mărțișor tradition was included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, thus acknowledging its importance as a symbol of cultural identity and as a key element of traditional heritage.