Bulgaria Celebrates Baba Marta

Every year on March 1, Bulgarians are decorated with white and red martenitsas. For health, for joy and with a premonition of the end of winter and the onset of spring. How ancient this Bulgarian tradition is, hardly anyone can say.

According to an old legend, Thracians located on Bulgarian lands tied themselves martenitsas. They always wore martenitsas during the spring, which symbolized the end of the cold and the awakening of nature to new life. Orpheus himself decorated his lyre with martenitsas. According to the ancients, it symbolized the infinity of life and immortality of the human spirit in the combination of white and red thread.

A more recent legend links the martenitsa to the arrival of Asparuh's Bulgarians on the Balkan Peninsula. These legends are not one or two. When the proto-Bulgarians reached the Danube plain, they were enchanted by its beauty. They chose this place to light a pagan fire. It was believed that around the fire the god Tangra (or Tengri) chose those who would be under his protection. Then the celebration began. Many people gathered. They brought fruits and vegetables, animals. The bleating of the lambs and the howling of the animals spread around. The women prepared bread, and the men kept the fire burning and spit large pieces of meat on skewers. There was bread and meat for everyone. The flames of the fire rose higher and higher. Only the Khan was not cheerful. He did not have the herb that grew in abundance in his native steppe. According to an old custom, he was to lay it next to the sacrificial offerings. He had to thank Tangra for this land, as was the custom of his ancestors. That is why the mighty khan was saddened. But suddenly a colorful bird flew up to him and spoke in a human voice: "Don't be sad, great...