Честита баба Марта! (Happy Grandma Marta!)

 

МАРТЕНИЦА ДНЕС СЕ ПОДАРЯВА
МАРТЕНИЦА ЗА ЖИВОТ И ЗДРАВЕ
ДНЕС, ТРАДИЦИЯТА ПОВЕЛЯВА
РАДОСТ И УСМИВКИ ДА ДАРЯВАШ
БЕЛИ, РУМЕНИ, ЗАСМЕНИ
ПРОЛЕТТА ДА СРЕЩНЕМ ПО-ДОБРИ, СМИРЕНИ
ТАМ, КЪДЕТО БЪЛГАРИН ЖИВЕЕ
ТАЗИ ПЛЕТЕНИЦА ЩЕ ГО ГРЕЕ

Martenitsa is your gift today

Martenitsa for good life and health

The tradition on that day decrees

Joy and grins to share as gift

White, ruddy, smiling

We all welcome spring, being better and humble men

Every place where a Bulgarian men lives

Today's tangle will always keep him warm

                                                                                                                                              

Martenitsa (Bulgarian: мартеница, pronounced [ˈmartɛnit͡sa]; plural мартеници martenitsi) is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and worn from March 1 until around the end of March (or the first time an individual sees a stork, swallow, or budding tree). The name of the holiday is Baba Marta. "Baba" (баба) is the Bulgarian word for "grandmother" and Mart (март) is the Bulgarian word for the month of March. The first day of March is a traditional holiday associated with sending off winter and welcoming spring. The red and white woven threads symbolize the wish for good health. They are the heralds of the coming of spring in Bulgaria and life in general. While white as a color symbolizes purity, red is a symbol of life and passion, thus some ethnologists have proposed that, in its very origins, the custom might have reminded people of the constant cycle of life and death, the balance of good and evil, and of the sorrow and happiness in human life. This is an old pagan tradition that remains almost unchanged today. The common belief is that by wearing the red and white colours of the martenitsa people ask Baba Marta for mercy. They hope that it will make winter pass faster and bring spring. Many people wear more than one martenitsa. They receive them as presents from relatives, close friends and colleagues. Martenitsa is usually worn pinned on the clothes, near the collar, or tied around the wrist.