Happy Baba Marta Day!

Granny March was hurrying, tying martenitsi to a girl, to a boy and to a little tree!

With wishes for good health, good fortune, success and a spring mood throughout the whole year!

The tradition associated with 1 March and the adorning with martenitsi marks the transition between winter and spring and dates back to the pre-Christian era. It is believed that martenitsi, made of twisted white and red thread, protect against various dangers and herald the beginning of the new agricultural and astronomical season. That is why martenitsi are also hung on animals and fruit trees. For health and abundance!

According to folk beliefs, Granny March is the sister of Big Sechko (January) and Little Sechko (February). This is the reason why she constantly changes her mood – at times gentle and kind, at times harsh and angry. Therefore, the weather in March is so unstable – now warm, now freezing.
 
Martenitsi are taken off when a person sees a stork or a swallow and are tied to a blossoming tree, or they used to be placed under a stone. After some time (the next day or after nine days) the stone would be lifted and if there were ants underneath, it was believed that many lambs would be born during the year; if there was a beetle or a worm – it meant that the calves would multiply. In some regions, elderly people would throw the martenitsi into the river “so that all misfortunes may flow away with the water”.

Even today people believe that if they dedicate a particular day of the month of March to themselves, they can judge by it what kind of year lies ahead of them.
It is interesting to know that the custom of adorning oneself with a white and red thread is widespread not only in Bulgaria. In 2017 it was inscribed on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a joint nomination by Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and North Macedonia.