Red and white – the Bulgarian spring health amulet is shrouded in legends and beliefs

According to popular belief, the color red has the power of the sun and gives vitality to every living being, while white symbolizes purity, innocence and joy. The appearance of the twisted white and red threads, known as martenitsa, means that winter is giving way to spring.

According to an old legend, martenitsas were spread across the Bulgarian lands since the Thracians, with even Orpheus decorating his lyre with them. ‎

A more recent legend connects the martenitsa with the settlement of the Asparuh Bulgarians on the Balkan Peninsula and their glorious victories. ‎

In Bulgaria, this custom is very widespread. Martenitsa has even become one of our national symbols. However, the red and white woven threads are not an exclusively Bulgarian tradition.

It turns out that it is also known in Romania, Moldova, Albania, Greece, Serbia, and North Macedonia, where similar amulets for health are also worn - albeit under different names. In Romania, martenitsa are tied to the hands of only women and young children, while men can only wear them in a hidden place, for example in their shoes. In Greece, they are tied only to the hands of children.

In Bulgaria, martenitsas are all over the streets and squares since the beginning of February. Skilled craftsmen present their products at improvised stalls in large cities. And neither snow nor sub-zero temperatures can stop the demand and supply of this revered symbol of spring. ‎

However, what should we consider when wearing a martenitsa so that it does not lose its magical power in our modern world? We are looking for an answer to this question from specialist Maria Boyanova from the Visitor Center at the Ethnographic Museum in Sofia:

"We see that synthetic materials are used today in making martenitsas, some white threads are sold as martenitsaa, and sometimes they are only red. We try to explain to the children that in order for it to be a martenitsa, the thread must first be wound. As the old people used to say, "unwound thread is not a martenitsa." The threads must be woolen in the traditional martenitsa. And last but not least, red and white were the most common combinations in Bulgarian lands, but there are other colors in martenitsas.

For example, there are colorful martenitsas in the Rhodope Mountains. They include yellow, green, and blue. Also in Berkovitsa and in Kardzhali there is a two-colored martenitsa, which is white and blue. While in Melnik and Sofia there is red and blue. Black is also common in the Bulgarian traditional martenitsa. When we talk about the martenitsa, we should not appropriate it as national pride and something unique only for us.

For example, the martenitsa, which was most characteristic of Romania, the so-called martisor, consists of white and black twisted threads. So the more important thing is that the martenitsa is twisted. Because, on the one hand, the twisting symbolizes the intertwining of the winter season with the summer season – the month of March is precisely this transition from winter to summer," says Maria Boyanova.

The martenitsa has established itself as a Balkan custom even before the establishment of national borders in our region, according to researchers of this ancient tradition. We cannot determine for sure how old it is, but it seems that it represents an ancient heritage that has remained among our peoples. Baba Marta (Grandma March), however, is a mythological figure that exists only among the Bulgarians.

"She is the personification of March – a month with very changeable weather, and therefore it is most logical to assume a female image, carrying a female, respectively, violent temper," explains Maria Boyanova and adds:

We know that when Baba Marta is smiling, the weather will be sunny, when she is in a bad mood - then it rains. There are various legends that explain the change in Baba Marta's mood. The common denominator in the descriptions is that she is an old woman coming from the end of the world to visit the people in the village on March 1. From there on, everything is a personal interpretation, additional overlays, including those created by poets after the Liberation. The first descriptions are found in the children's poem "Baba Marta was in a hurry, she tied martenitsa".

At this time, the symbols Pijo and Penda were also formed, included in the martenitsa, which perhaps represent a continuation of the tassel as an ornament, transformed into the characters of the same name from the stories of Bulgarian writer Elin Pelin. In this way, a combination is created between folk images and the author's texts of the writer. In Romania, for example, martenitsas are worn by Baba Dokia, but she is different from Baba Marta, although it is still associated with March and the changing weather, the mythological character of Baba Marta is entirely Bulgarian".

Special attention also requires the moment when the martenitsa is taken off. This is what children who attend the traditional martenitsa workshop organized by the Ethnographic Museum learn. This year it is entitled: "Here's a martinitsa for you, give me health!". With this name, our ancestors took off their amulet and often threw it at the sun, or at a stork or swallow when they saw them in the spring. What is behind this ancient tradition? Maria Boyanova explains:

"The request was to receive health in return. This is an ancient formula – I give in order to receive, or the way in which since ancient times people have asked the gods for what they need. Giving a sacrifice works on the same principle, while kneading a ritual bread is a kind of grain sacrifice. People first give something from themselves, and the best, most valuable thing they have, in order to receive something they need in return. And specifically with the formula "Here is a martenitsa, give me health!", the martenitsa is given to the sun as a sacrifice. The special thing is that after it is thrown towards the sun, the martenitsa is burned. Apparently, in this way it goes to the sun so that people can receive health in return."

Once put on March 1, the martenitsa can be worn until March 9 - the church holiday of the Forty Holy Martyrs or until March 25 – the Feast of the Annunciation", says Maria Boyanova. The martenitsa can also be taken off when the first stork, swallow, cuckoo appears or when the first fruit tree blooms. According to another belief, however, the martenitsa can be worn until the beginning of the harvest in the summer.