On the first day of March the Bulgarians give to each other martenitsa as a form of a spring greeting. The martenitsa is placed on people’s clothes or tied round the wrist. The traditional martenitsa is made from red and white woolen threads. It is believed that wearing martenitsa has a magic power. The martenitsa is considered a magical article able to drive away evil and attract good.
It is no coincidence that the martenitsa is made by waving into one a white and a red thread. The beliefs of the Bulgarians associate the red colour with man and the white, with woman. Their binding into one signifies the birth of a new life. The martenitsa also symbolizes the end of winter and the onset of spring. This is why people do not take off their martenitsa until they see the first stork, and then tie them on a tree in blossom. Romania and Northern Greece too have such a custom and give interwoven red and white threads to young girls on March 1.