You will find only 2 colors for Martenitsa : the white and red, realized with red and white threads in wool, cotton or silk. Pizho, the male doll, is usually predominantly white Penda, the female doll, is distinguished by her skirt and is usually predominantly red. This bracelet consists of two small wool dolls, Pizho and Penda (Bulgarian: Пижо и Пенда). Her holiday of the same name is celebrated in Bulgaria on March, the 1st, with the exchange and wearing of martenitsi. Baba Marta is the name of a mythical figure who brings with her the end of the cold winter and the beginning of the spring. In France, we have not this kind of custom and it is always curious and interesting to know what does it mean exactly.īaba Marta in Southeastern Europe is a traditional Bulgarian, Romanian and Moldovan festival that symbolizes the arrival of Spring. As Italian hang their shoes on the electric wires that sometimes find themselves very busy, Bulgarian hang their Baba Marta bracelets on trees and it is pretty nice. The first time we went in Bulgaria, we were really surprised to see many threads and bracelets on the trees in the center of Sofia, in the Parks, everywhere on the trees. What’s more about this Bulgarian traditional custom. Martenitza trees – decorating tree around the world to promote the unique tradition of celebrating 1-st of March.The first March, everywhere in Bulgaria, for the Baba Marta all Bulgarians wear and offer a martenitsa, a cute bracelet as a lucky door. Young people, in particular, can be seen with a wrist full of red and white bracelets.īulgarian Martenitsa Adorn Trees around World Animals are also adorned with their own special martenitsa. Penda is the female, red doll and is distinguished by her skirt. Pizho is the male doll and is usually crafted from white wool. Front doors are decorated with enormous red and white pompoms or with „Pizho and Penda“. This may be in the form of a simple bracelet of entwined red and white wool or a brooch of red and white wool tassels. While white as a color symbolizes purity, red is a symbol of life and passion, thus some ethnologists have proposed that, in its very origins, the custom might have reminded people of the constant cycle of life and death, the balance of good and evil, and of the sorrow and happiness in human life.īulgarians give martenitsi to their family, friends and neighbours. They are the heralds of the coming of spring in Bulgaria and life in general. The red and white woven threads symbolize the wish for good health. On the first day of March and for a few days afterwards, Bulgarians exchange and wear white and red tassels or small dolls called „Пижо и Пенда“ (Pizho and Penda). The majority of the customs connected to Baba Marta aim to make her happy and so bring about spring all the faster. This is related to the weather during the month of March, which is traditionally extremely variable in Bulgaria – warm and sunny weather means that Baba Marta is happy when she is angry, the winter frost returns. Early in the morning women must sweep the house and hang on the balcony a red cloth, so that Grandma Marta smiled and the Sun shined! This is an ancient Bulgarian tradition (existing, perhaps, for more than one thousand years) ,which symbolizes the end of Winter and the coming of Spring…īaba Marta is seen as an old lady who has very contrasting moods. The month of March, according to Bulgarian folklore, marks the beginning of springtime. Baba Marta is a Bulgarian tradition related to welcoming the upcoming spring. „Baba“ (баба) is the Bulgarian word for „grandmother“ and Mart (март) is the Bulgarian word for the month of March. Martenitsa (Bulgarian: мартеница) is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and worn from March 1 until around the end of March (or the first time an individual sees a stork, swallow, or budding tree). On the first day of March Bulgarians put the „martenitsa“-s on their clothes or wrists and wish each other health and happiness with the words „Happy Grandma Marta!“ (from the Bulgarian word for „March“ – „mart“)
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