Bulgarians celebrate the 1st of March as the day of Baba Marta. They have a tradition to exchange white and red threads for good health during the year.
The legend says that the martenitza protects the people and the household from the evil spirit of the winter. In the villages martenitza used to be tied to the legs, necks and tails of the cows, lambs and other animals. Even the trees would meet the morning of 1st of March with red and white threads hung on their branches.
Today the tradition continues and there is not a single Bulgarian that would not wear the symbol of health and luck on the first day of March. Nowadays, the most popular form of the martenitza is the bracelet, while in the past only women and children used to war martenitzas as bracelets.
The symbollic threads are worn until one sees a blossoming tree, a stork or until Blagoveshtenie (March 25th), the day when Virgin Mary has received the good news of the forthcoming birth of Jesus Christ.
The ritual is a great way to celebrate the coming of spring and to add a colourful spark to the neverending winter. Children are of course the happiest of all, collecting lots of martenitzas and hanging them everywhere.
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