Martenitsa (Bulgarian red and white bracelet) is a little decoration made of white and red yarn that is worn from March 1 till the first blossoming tree or stork appears. As a result of this tradition, the 1st of March has become one of the most Bulgarian traditions ever.
Every year on March 1st, the holiday of “Grannie Marta” (Baba Marta – baba means ‘Grandma’ and Marta means ‘March’), Bulgarians embellish themselves. This custom is regarded as a Bulgarian tradition unlike any other.
White is a beautiful colour that represents purity, innocence, and joy. The colour red represents vigour, health, and love, as well as victory, life, and courage, as well as the light of a rising or setting sun. According to common belief, this colour possesses the power of the sun and provides vigour to all living things.
Bulgarian Martenitsa is steeped in a plethora of fascinating rituals and traditions.
- Instead of white yarn, residents in some parts of Bulgaria use a variety of colours.
- Every housewife in Razgrad hangs red fabric over one of the fruit trees in the garden at sunrise, “to make Baba Marta laugh.”
- Every house’s mistress ties red wool locks on fruit trees and cattle horns on March 1st before sunrise in Troyan.
- Grandmothers in Haskovo, who previously attached Martenitsa to the hands of youngsters, now dress totally in red.
Despite the widespread belief that Martenitsa is a Bulgarian “creation,” Romania and Greece have something to say about it.
Romania
Martenitsa (“mărțișor” in Romanian) is an ancient emblem of a prehistoric scenario for nature’s rebirth on the verge of spring. According to legend, this old ceremony is linked to the symbolic death and birth of a local female deity known as Baba Dokiya. In Romania, the month of March is known as Martsashor.
Greece
Ethnologists in Greece link this practice to the Balkan Peninsula’s old pagan heritage, particularly agricultural fertility cults. Martenitsa’s are exclusively found in high mountain places far from major metropolitan and cultural hubs in Greece. Traditionally, grandmothers in small Greek villages tie Martenitsa on the hands of small children all year to keep them healthy and happy. In most big cities, this habit has been forgotten, but near universities and other gathering areas for young people, you can see cheerful lads and girls wearing red and white bangles around their wrists.
Macedonia
The majority of young individuals under the age of 22 had no idea what Martenitsa was. Some adults were told about it, and the majority of those over the age of 38/40 agreed that the custom has persisted in the past and that fewer people are aware of it now.
Symbolism of Martenitsa
The celebration represents the beginning of a new season – spring – as well as the natural cycle’s rotation. Baba Marta represents nature in the early spring stage: chaotic, unexpected, and easily changing. Some of the ritual’s distinctive elements, particularly the tying of the twisted white and red woollen threads, reflect Thracian Hellenic, possibly Roman origins. Many trees in Bulgaria are adorned with red and white bracelets at the end of March. When a person wearing Martenitsa sees a blossoming tree, it is customary to tie it on a limb.
Baba Marta is a character from Bulgarian folklore.
Baba Marta is a mythological character in Bulgarian folklore who heralds the end of the cold winter and the arrival of spring. Baba Marta is thought to be a grouchy old lady whose emotions swing wildly, as evidenced by the fickle March weather. It was thought that when she smiled, the weather would be sunny and warm, but that if she became furious, the cold would last longer. Bulgarian forefathers begged Baba Marta for mercy by wearing the Martenitsa’s red and white colours. They hoped it would speed up the passage of winter and usher in spring.
