March 1

They are martenitsas, lucky charms, harbingers not just of the new spring but of a new lease of life, a lease of life that Bulgarians traditionally wish upon close friends and family every March 1. Martenitsas are exchanged and then worn until the wearer sees his or her first stork or swallow returning from migration or a blossoming tree. The tradition goes by the name Baba Marta – Granny March by way of literal translation but not necessarily a reference to an old woman, according to history, but rather to the wisest member of a family, gender-regardless. The origin of the martenitsa goes back as far as the establishment of the Bulgarian ethnic region of old, which stretched as far as north-east Greece of today and south-east Romania, though in Greek areas it is more likely to be called Babaka (wise father) and in Romanian border villages the name is martisorul (the head of the family).

March 1, originally uploaded by Samentaa.