Spring Festival

Bulgarians very colorfully celebrate the arrival of spring and give each other martenitsas as a sign of its onset.

Martenitsa is a custom of ancient Thracian origin. The first martenitsa was a white and red wool thread, to which a silver or gold coin was sometimes tied.

Martenets are made by women on the eve of the holiday. According to tradition, martenitsa is tied to the hands, legs, neck, belt, outerwear. Martenitsa are worn on the body for three, nine, 25 days. Then they are removed and hidden under a stone, hung on a fruit tree greened in the yard, thrown into the river, thrown on the roof of the house.

The martenets are often worn until they see the first bird of spring, sometimes a snake.

Hiding martenitsa under a stone, the next day it is guessed about the fertility of cattle. According to legends from the Pirinsky region, the insect stuck to the martenitsa promises good luck in breeding livestock, while it is believed that ants on martenitsa mean many goats or sheep, ladybugs - cattle, spider - breeding donkeys. Similarly (according to the presence of insects, straws, chips) girls guess about marriage.