March the First, Martinitsa and Baba Marta

Dome of Rila Monastery in the Village of Rila

Well I hope you got the picture right. It really is an easy one.

My cue picture is over the archway of one of the entrances to the famous Rila Monastery, pictured above, the most famous in Bulgaria.

The monastery complex was declared a national historical monument in 1976 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

This magnificent monastery was dedicated to Saint John of Rila in the Middle Ages but most of the present complex was built between 1834 and 1837 by master builder Pavel Ioan and decorated by many great artists.

Since 1991 it has been entirely subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Be warned.

Although this is a key tourist site the clergy are increasingly limiting access to visitors and banning photography. This is more or less the situation in many Bulgarian Monasteries nowadays.

Martinitsa and Baba Marta

Martinitsa, Red and White

Well, in a blog from Bulgaria it won’t do to miss out on March the first and the tradition of giving and receiving Martinitsas.

This is the day of Baba Marta - she’s an old woman who represents the only female month of the year in Bulgaria. The custom today is to hand out Martinitsas to all your relatives and friends.

Martinitsas are small tokens made of red and white wool.

The colours go right back to ancient times to the Gods of War and Spring. Bulgaria was a land of battles and the red represents the blood of the warriors and the white, the pale faces of the waiting women.

Today, of course, it’s all a cheerful celebration for the end of Winter and the coming of Spring. it’s the day of Baba Marta. (Baba is Granny in Bulgarian).

Tradition dictates that we wear our Martinisas until we see a stork or a tree in blossom and then we usually hang them on the trees which are festooned with blossom and the red and white tokens.

Traditional style Martinitsa

You can buy martinitsas on hundreds of stalls on every street corner. Or you can make them yourself. My examples of martinitsa were hand made by my ten year old son. Perhaps one of them is for me!

So, Happy March

Later we’ll continue our walk to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and its surroundings.

I'm John Rocha, Blog Master of Bulgarian Vistas.

I like to write from experience about living in Bulgaria, holidays in Bulgaria, Bulgarian food,

famous Bulgarians and ....

Don't forget the free Bulgarian e-cards you can send to your friends if they're interested in Bulgaria.

Hope you enjoy my blog.

If you do, I'd appreciate a bookmark at your favourite Social Sites.

I always welcome your comments which I can take up in later posts.

And ... You can subscribe to comments and my Bulgarian Vistas RSS feed. Or you can subscribe by email.

All the best John