Smolyan

According to the peoples belief spring comes with the arrival of Baba Martha or literally grandmother Martha. Her dual image of both a merry and happy, simultaneously approving and denying character represents the woman as the beginning of life and the elemental devastating beginning. March is the only womans month, it is the month of conception of spring and land which will give birth to the summer and fruitfulness. The martenitsa, a symbol of the wakening of the earth for a new life and the cult to sun, is the sign of March. The white color of the martenitsa initially symbolized the man, the strength and the light solar zone. Later influenced by the Christian mythology it became a symbol of the virginity and virtuousness the white color is the color of Christ. The red color in the martenitsa represents the woman and health, it is a sign of the blood, conception and birth. The womens wedding dresses and traditional costumes used to be red once. The martenitsa is a unique amulet that provides protection from the power of evil and the wearing of a martenitsa is a magical ritual act: the twisted white and red woolen threads protect the person from the mechanisms of the black magic.