For more than 1,000 years, we The Bulgarians have celebrated our national holiday on March 1st called “Baba Marta,” (Grandma March). In Bulgarian, “Mart” is the name for the month of March.

During March, Bulgarians wear a small special ornament made of red and white yarn called “Martenitsa,” (for Mart/March). The martenitsa is one of the most recognizable and unique Bulgarian symbols. It is a symbol of peace, love, health and happiness.

Legends about the origin of the Bulgarian martenitsa are more

than one, but they are all associated with the founder of Bulgaria – Khan Asparuh.

According to one legend the Bulgarian Khan Kubrat had five sons and a famously beautiful daughter – Huba.

Towards the end of his life, around the year 665 BC, the Bulgarian ruler Khan Kubrat gathered his 5 sons around his dead bed. He was holding a bundle of sticks bound together. Khan Kubrat pulled one of the sticks out and easily crashed it in two. When he then tried to crash the entire bundle he failed. This was his legacy for his sons: that if they stay united, nothing can break them.

Soon after the death of the Khan the Khazarian tribes attacked the Bulgarians and held his daughter, Huba, a captive. The Khazarian leader, Ashina, demanded that Khan Kubrat’s sons accept him as their leader – the only condition under which he would release their sister and leave them their lands.

The oldest of the sons, Bayan, agreed to accept the Khazarian leadership and stay with his captivated sister. The other four sons, however, did not comply with the orders of their late father and split apart in a search of new land for their tribes.

One of them went north, and the other three (Asparuh, Kube, and Altzek) headed south, each taking a different route. Before they went their way all 5 brother and the sister agreed that Bayan and Huba will remain with the Khazarian leader until the rest find new lands for the Bulgarians. According to the agreement Asparuh was to send a bird with a golden strand tied to its leg. This would be the sign for Huba and Bayan to escape from Ashina and follow their brothers.