Happy March!!

Hello All, it's the 1st day of March - Baba Marta day in Bulgaria. Below is an extract from an article about this holiday: If you visit Bulgaria on the first day of March you will notice that almost every person is wearing small tokens made from red and white threads. If you visit between late March and mid-April, you will see fruit trees and shrubs decorated with these same tokens. That's because March 1st is Baba Marta Den (Granny March Day) in Bulgaria. It is the most universal Bulgarian holiday. The tradition has become similar to the way Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the USA.

Marta is the female form of the word Mart, which means March (the month) in Bulgarian. The name March comes from the Latin Martius, i.e. ‘of Mars’, the god of war, son of Jupiter and Junona. Old Bulgarians called it “birch month” – because the birch trees begin to grow leaves and give sap. March is the only female month. It is the month of birth and re-birth, of fertility and fruitfulness.

Baba Marta is an angry old lady whose mood changes rapidly from bad to good, and then back again. She usually limps or has a crooked back, and carries an iron stick to lean upon. The Bulgarian tradition is that Baba Marta arrives just when Spring is set to begin. She is irritable, unpredictable, and quick tempered. She personifies the extremes of weather during the spring and is very unstable, as her moods are reflected in the weather, swinging from sparkling good humor to a boiling rage. When she smiles the sun shines, when she is mad at someone cold weather freezes the ground.

Chestitsa Baba Marta!! (Happy Granny March) :flower: