Baba Marta gets real pissed cuz it's winter and so dang cold. So usually around March 1st she says, "Alright. Enough of this. Let's start celebrating the coming Spring. Right. Now." So all the little Bulgarian boys and cute, little Bulgarian girls give each other мартеници (martenitzas): bracelets made of white and red string usually with a cute bead in the shape of an eye, heart, flower or butterfly (you can even buy them with Hannah Montana's face though I'm not sure how Baba Marta would feel about this).
You where them until you either
See a stork
or see budding flowers and leaves on the trees
Both signs that Spring has arrived and Baba Marta is happy once again.
It's then time to hang all your martenitzas on a tree outside. These two entertwining strings represent health and good fortune so hanging them all over the village is an important part of the tradition and something I'm very much looking forward to - favorite Bulgarian holiday so far.
Because I'm a teacher, I received 31 martenitzas today - I'm not going to keep them all on (I left 3 on each wrist) but they are each a little different and quite adorable. Bring on the storks!
-Age
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