It was inevitable; the martenitsa has a Facebook page.
A week before the annual ritual, it had more than 500 members. The list did not include Pizho and Penda, but perhaps they are disqualified because, customarily, together they make up one martenitsa.

Confused? If so, you are either a recent arrival in Bulgaria and unfamiliar with the custom of martenitsi, or you are familiar with the season of Baba Marta and don’t know what Facebook is…no, let’s write off that latter scenario, shall we?

Martenitsi are exchanged every year on March 1 in a Bulgarian tradition the origins of which are disputed, but which safely may be described as pagan.
Note that martenitsi are exchanged; not bought for oneself, and are given with the ritual intonation: "Chestita Baba Marta" (Blessed Granny March), in sum an invocation of wishes for better weather, good health, fertility, virility; you get the idea.

Granny March, in legend, is a capricious old harridan, and getting on her wrong side means continuing cold weather and quite likely having to resort to the medicine cabinet. Wearing martenitsi symbolises a wish that she will look kindly on you, or in the parlance of this chapter of the 21st century, that she will click "accept" on your friend invitation.

The red-and-white theme symbolises red cheeks and white skin (health); the whiteness of snow and the crimson-coloured sun reborn after winter; purity and honesty (white) and warmth and friendship (red); or a white carrier pigeon and red blood on the notice it delivered, according to a legend that links martenitsi to a seventh century battle; or are said to be pleasing colours to Baba Marta, or, it is said, the white wool represents the melting snow and the red twine represents the setting sun, which becomes more and more intense as spring advances. Other associations of the martenitsa’s colours are that the white symbolises man and the red woman, or that they represent purity and life or health and strength.

An unorthodox view would be that martenitsi serve as conversation pieces to argue about the origins of martenitsi. It is essential to have a stock of martenitsi ready, ahead of the morning of March 1, to exchange with family and (depending on custom at your workplace) with colleagues.

Choice is not a problem; there are indeed Pizho and Penda, the he-and-she wooly figurines; the wristlets; varieties for pinning to clothing; and sizes suitable for donning on dogs, cats, horses, houses, and, probably, PCs and laptops. Optional extras that may be intertwined into martenitsi include coins, garlic, nuts, talismans against the Evil Eye, branded and franchised characters such as Hannah Montana, and though we have not seen one yet, probably it is a matter of time before there are martenitsi that come complete with 16GB flashcards.

Bulgaria has in recent years seen martenitsa-as-media stunt. A Stara Zagora woman got on television and in the Guinness Book of Records in 2002 with a 12m-long martenitsa, only to be outdone a few years later by a 400m monster martenitsa displayed in a shopping mall in the country’s capital.

What Khan Krum would say is anyone’s guess, especially given that some versions of the tale link the origins of the martenitsa to him. While March 1 may see you adorned on wrist and chest with a myriad martenitsi, many people stick to wearing just one or two after that, usually those given by spouses (possibly, if alienated, a threat more immediate than Baba Marta).

In the same way that the origins of Baba Marta are ascribed to differing origins, so too practice about removing martenitsi varies. Generally, they should be worn until either March 20, or March 22, or when you see a tree that is beginning to blossom, or when you see a stork, or a swallow, or a cuckoo. When the time comes, remove your martenitsa and tie it in a tree that is blossoming. A separate custom is for unmarried girls to put their martenitsi under a big stone in order to receive good luck in marriage. Which, when it comes to martenitsi and to marriage, is about as rational approach as any.

Thanks to The Sofia Echo, you can follow Baba Marta on Twitter. Visit twitter.com/baba_marta