The Legend of Martenitsa

In ancient times, brother and sister lived separated in different lands. They wanted to get together and live together. One day the brother sent a falcon to find his sister and show him the way. The falcon found his sister, and she tied a long white thread to his leg so he could see him from a distance. She followed the falcon and reached her brother. They noticed that the thread had rubbed the falcon's leg and turned half red with blood. The brother and sister tied this red and white thread in their hands, and the words they both said were, "Let the thread that connects us never be broken!" Thus the martenitsa was born.
This happened on March 1. That's why people donate martenitsas on this day. Wearing martenitsa is an old folk custom, preserved from antiquity to the present day. This is a kind of amulet, and whoever wears it is endowed with health and strength throughout the year. Traditionally, the housewife gets up early, washes the yard, lights a fire, and hangs red and white yarn in front of her house. It was believed that they guarded the house and the people in it so that evil, poverty, and disease would not enter them. The ritual also aimed at Baba Marta seeing them, laughing and the sun shining. The martenitsa is taken off when a person sees a stork and is tied to a fruit tree to fill the year with health and success.