Baba Marta

 

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For the first of March, you say. Чеctиtа Баба Марtа! 
Among bolts of bright fabric, embroidered shirts, painted bowls, carved spoons, in the shop at the Ethnographic Institute in Sofia, you’re telling me about martenitsi – these woven red and white bands. Warding off winter, heralding spring, these twists of thread keep Baba Marta happy. Grandma March likes red.  

Season of snowdrops and crocus, birdsong and breezes, unexpected frosts and click-clacking branches like stripped umbrellas – March is capricious. Wants trust. Demands to be placated.


Images: Marina Shiderova; text: Tom Phillips