Happy 1st of March! Честита Баба Марта 🤍

[Elena]

Hey everyone!

On the first day of March in some of the Balkan countries, mostly in Bulgaria, but also in parts of Serbia, Romania, etc. we celebrate a folklore holiday called Баба Марта. The name directly translated to Granny March and signifies the beginning of spring and the tradition on that day is to give friends and family red-and-white interwoven strings and wish them good health and happiness during the year. 

I found this short podcast episode that tells a bit more about the day and one of the legend behind the day. It's actually a story I hadn't heard before but find it quite lovely and poetically told - check it out: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2LsyH3e1otIajQxZ3nlQb9?si=50b346ce3eec487a

[KatesHere]

We actually also do this in Greece but we call the bracelets Marches ("μαρτάκια") - I don't think we have a special name for the day itself like you do with Баба Марта. From my corner of Greece, we wear them to protect us from getting sunburnt. I assume that's because the sun would be getting stronger with the upcoming spring. It doesn't work as well as sunblock though lol 😄

It's very cool to see that the tradition exists throughout the Balkans, and how each county celebrates it.