About Martenitsa

4. Complete the sentences using information from the text.

a) In Bulgarian folklore the name Baba Marta means ‘grandmother’ and ‘March’.

b) People believe that wearing the colours of Martenitsa, spring will come earlier.

c) Martenitsi are always given as presents to friends and family.

d) The colours of Martenitsa are interpreted as symbols of purity and spring.

5. Is Martenitsa a religious tradition?

Martenitsa is a religious tradition because it is a pagan custom, and the word “pagan” means a lot of beliefs.

Martenitsa welcomes spring, but it also is a period of time when people ask Baba Marta for mercy, that is one of the principal Christian qualities, and other immaterial things. Furthermore, it’s similar to Christmas, because people buy martenitsi as presents for their relatives, and received martenitsi from them.

6. Do you know any old pagan Spanish tradition?

Lent is a Christian tradition. It’s a period of time (forty days) before Holy Week.

It begins on Ash Wednesday and finishes on Holy Thursday.

The first day of Lent, the priest draws an ash cross on the forehead of the people that go to the church.

It symbolizes the end of mistakes of last year.