According to tradition, Marta (the female of the word “Mart”, the BG version of March) is an angry old lady who rapidly changes her mood from worst to best and back again. She is popular all around Bulgaria as "Grandmother Martha" (or "Baba Marta" in Bulgarian ). According to the typically Bulgarian belief, spring comes with the arrival of “Baba Marta”. Her dual image of both merry and mischievous, of simultaneously approving and denying character, represents the woman as the beginning of life as well as the elemental devastating beginning at large.

March is traditionally believed to be the only “female” month of the year - the month of conception of spring, the month of  land giving birth to summer and fruitfulness. The red-and-white woolen token called “Martenitsa” [mar-te-‘ni-tsa], after the name of the month “Mart” is the very sign of the coming March - the symbol of the wakening of the earth for a new life as well as the cult to the Sun.

The white color of the Martenitsa initially symbolized the human nature, the strength and the light solar zone. Later influenced by Christian mythology, it became the symbol of virginity and virtuousness – the white color is the color of Christ. The red color in the Martenitsa was chosen to represent health and the woman’s nature - it is a sign of blood, conception and birth. The women’s wedding dresses and traditional costumes used to be red once upon a time.

Traditionally, the Martenitsa has always been a unique amulet that was believed to provide protection from the powers of evil. The wearing of a Martenitsa used to be a kind of a magical ritual act: the twisted white and red woolen threads protected the person from the mechanisms of black magic.