/View.info/ Baba Marta’s holiday is a symbol of spring, which we associate with wishes for health and fertility. This is the beginning of a new cycle in nature.
Every year on March 1, Bulgarians adorn themselves with white and red martenitsi. For health, for joy and with a premonition of the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Hardly anyone can say how ancient this Bulgarian tradition is!
According to an old legend, Martenitsi were tied to the Bulgarian lands by the Thracians. They necessarily wore boots during the spring mysteries, which symbolized the end of the cold and the awakening of nature to new life. Orpheus himself licked his lyre with martens. According to the ancients, it symbolized the infinity of life and the immortality of the human spirit precisely in the combination between the white and the red thread.
A more recent legend connects the Martenitsa with the arrival of the Asparukh Bulgarians on the Balkan Peninsula. These legends are not one and two. When the proto-Bulgarians reached the Danube plain, they were enchanted by its beauty. They chose this place to light a heathen fire. They believed that around the fire, the god Tangra chooses those who will be under his protection. A holiday has begun. Many people gathered. They brought fruits and vegetables, animals. The bleating of lambs and the lowing of calves echoed around. The women earned bread, and the men tended the fire and turned large pieces of meat on skewers. There was bread and meat for everyone. The flames of the fire rose higher and higher. Only the inn was not cheerful. He did not have the herb that grew in abundance in his native steppe. According to an old custom, it should be placed next to the sacrificial gifts. He had to thank Tangra for this land, as the custom of his ancestors dictated. That is why the mighty khan was saddened. But suddenly a colorful bird flew to him and spoke in a human voice: “Do not be sad, great inn. I have swift and strong wings. I flew with you all the way to help you in a difficult moment. Tie a white horse on my neck, I I will fly to the Volga, to your sister and convey greetings from you and your company.” The inn tied a white horse around the neck of the wonderful bird, it flew into the sky and soon disappeared from his sight. Time passed and the bird returned: “Rejoice, great inn! Untie the white horse and take the herb. You will also find a red horse – greetings from your sister and your relatives.” The khan took the sprig of herb and presented it as a gift. And he kept the white and red thread, believing that they would bring him health and happiness. There are several legends about the asparagus Bulgarians and the martenitsa.
From more recent times is another tale about Baba Marta. Martha lived with her brothers far away in the mountains. Her brothers bore the same name – Sechko. But one was called little and the other big Sechko. From the high mountain they could see and hear everything that was happening on earth. Was Marta smiling, stroking both bugs and weeds. She warmed the expanse with her gentle smile, the sun shone like gold, the birds flew over merrily. Once a young agile bride drove her sheep to the mountains, a warm sun shone, birds called, so the cattle grazed. “Don’t take her out, bride, it’s too early to graze! Soon Sechko will be gone,” her father-in-law thought. “The cycads are blooming now, daughter-in-law – the old man warmly reminded her. This is a false flower, if it hasn’t blossomed, don’t believe it, don’t take off the cover!”. “Well, Teiko, what will Marta do to me? She is a woman and she cannot do evil to a woman,” said the bride and she picked up the sheep and goats up the mountain. Marta heard these words and a heavy sorrow came over her. It’s nothing that she is a woman, and she can subdue the sun like her brothers, and she knows when to send a sunny grace! Dark clouds hang over the mountain without mercy the swollen forest, icy snow set in. The ground froze, the brook fell silent. The disobedient young shepherdess never returned. She remained petrified up in the mountain.
Thus, the custom of making martenitsi remained, so that “Baba Marta” would be happy and bring only good things to people.
The old Bulgarians believed that there was an evil force in nature, called “loshotia”, which also woke up in the spring, and in popular beliefs, March 1 marks the beginning of spring. The magical power to protect against “bad things”, especially from diseases and lessons, was attributed to the martenits. They are taken down only when the first stork is seen and hung on a blooming or green tree, or placed under a stone. Some of the March 1st customs associated with driving out evil forces include lighting a bonfire and burning the garbage in the yard, and then everyone jumps over the embers. The divination custom of choosing a day is also widespread.
The custom of tying a martenitsa is known not only in Bulgaria, but also in Romania, Moldova, Albania, Greece, Macedonia and Serbia. In Romania they are tied on the hands of women and small children, while in Greece – only on the hands of children.
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