When does spring come? When the sun melts the last  snowflakes or when the storks return from warmer countries? If you ask Bulgarians, they will tell you that spring arrives on the first of March, even if everything is still covered in snow and ice.

In Bulgaria spring has a material image called Baba Martha. On the first day of March, she dresses in red, wearing a red scarf and walking in red socks. Bulgarians believe that this color will protect them from diseases. That is why, to this day, they adhere to the ancient custom of giving white and red martenitsas, which are associated with the wish of health.

Nadezhda Pechanova made her first martenitsas when she was a girl, and a few years ago she decided to dedicate more time to them during the not so busy for her business as a designer of furniture and interior winter months. And although the tradition calls for small amulets to be made from the simplest white and red threads, the master's fantasy and skillful hands turn their production into art. That's why her martenitsas bloom with the colors of spring flowers and are made of wool and wood.

"For centuries people in these lands have believed that martenitza is a magic that protects against evil and gives birth to a new life. Martenitsa must be made with much love because they have magical power, Nadezhda Pecanova says. While I'm working on them, I wish for health, because we all need it most, as well as harmony", she adds.

Each year, red and white tassels follow fashion trends and can be seen as faces of favorite actors and singers, cartoon characters and animals. And this year they even have a Far Eastern flavor - not only because of their mass production in China, but also in honor of the just-starting year of the yellow earth dog. At first it seemed funny, but then I thought about it and realized that the Old Bulgarian Calendar somehow duplicated the Chinese, and in that case this influence could spill over into the martenitsa.

She also makes martenitsa with a yellow earth dog, but her inspiration, comes mostly from the Bulgarian traditions and especially those in the Rhodopes - a colorful world she is linked to not only emotionally but also genetically.

"I make many martenitsi with a chilli pepper and people with sense of humor accept them very well, Nadezhda Pechanova says. I also make mandala using the so-called circular weaving. Mandalas are symbolic circles in Buddhism and other religions. Although the tradition comes from Peru, it fits the idea of ​​martenitsas, as the mandala also protects its owner. I have named the colorful martenitsas "Rhodopean Knot" - there are not only white and red, but also yellow, purple, blue, green. I have martenitsas dedicated to the fishermen. I have decorated them with pike figurines, which is one of their favorite trophies and very difficult catch. And I have big bell martenitsas that are suitable for the front door of the house."

A legend tells us that everything started 13 centuries ago during the founding of the Bulgarian state by Khan Asparuh. After defeating the Byzantines and laying the foundations of the new state, he wanted to make sacrifice to God Tangra. According to an old folk custom, the pyre had to be lit by a burning leaf of dill. But there was no dill to be found. At that moment, however, a swallow perched on Asparuh's shoulder. In her beak the bird had a sprig ofthe  aromatic plant tied with red and white thread. The bird spoke in a human voice: "You have a new land from now on, protect it with your blood and keep it as white as the snow!" The day was the March 1, and the white and red tassels, entangled with threads, symbolized the peace between Slavs and Bulgarians, as well as health and happiness.

English: Alexander Markov