March 1st - the holiday of martenitsas and spring - part 2

If you missed reading the first part of the article, you can find it here: March 1st - the holiday of martenitsas and spring

Initially, martenitsas were worn only by young women and children, but later everyone began to exchange them. In the past, Bulgarians wore martenitsas on all parts of the body, including the neck and legs, and sometimes this was even associated with a person's social status. For example, young unmarried girls wore martenitsas on the left side of their clothes, young bachelors hung them on the pinkie (little finger) in their left hand, and married men put martenitsas in their right socks. Nowadays, they are most commonly worn on the wrist in the form of a bracelet or attached to one of the clothes. Bulgarians believe that decorating with martenitsa will protect you from evil forces and will bring you longevity. This is also done for health, luck and success in the coming year. Also, the old Bulgarians believed that in nature there was some evil force called "loshotia (badness)", which awoke in the spring and the martenitsa was attributed the magical power to protect people from it.

However, martenitsas are worn only for a certain period of time associated with the signs of the approaching spring - flowering trees, meeting with the first migratory birds - storks, swallows or cranes. In the past in different parts of Bulgaria the removal of martenitsas has been associated with various predictions. The people of Southern Bulgaria, for example, believed that the martenitsa worn on the wrist should be taken off when a person saw a stork, and if the bird did not fly, it meant that summer would be very lazy. The martenitsas were removed from the neck when a swallow was seen, so that the neck became graceful and long as a bird's. In other parts of the country, the girls placed their martenitsa under a large stone and thus foretold their future husband. Exactly half a year later, they returned to the same place, and if there were ants on their martenitsa, their chosen one would be poor. In Pirin there was another belief related to stone and insects. According to him, if there were ants on the martenitsa, it meant that success in the breeding of many goats and sheep was expected during the year, the ladybugs predicted that man would have cattle and the spider - donkey breeding. If people wanted to be ruddy and healthy, they had to hang their martenitsa on a flowering tree, and if they wanted to escape from all evil, they had to throw it into running water to take away evil.

Recently, a dispute has arisen over the origin of martenitsas. According to one version, this amulet dates back to the time when the Thracians lived in our lands and hung red threads on their livestock to protect it from disease. The other theory takes us to the period when Khan Asparuh began to form the Bulgarian state. Three of the legends about the martenitsa are connected with this version. Although different in themselves, legend has it that Khan Asparuh received a message from his beautiful sister Huba in the form of a white thread tied to a bird's leg - a falcon, a dove or a swallow, depending on the story. During the trip, the bird was injured and so the thread turned red. Pleased with the dear news from his sister, Khan Asparuh adorned his entire nation with such threads, which is believed to be the origin of modern tradition.

Regardless of its origin, the martenitsa remains one of the most emblematic and beloved symbols of Bulgaria. The white-red thread is what unites all Bulgarians in one day, regardless of where they are. That is why we wish you a happy Baba Marta and good health and success for the rest of the year.