No, its not my relative. It is a lady with a very special job similar to Santa Clause’s.

And here are some of the martenitzas we made on Sunday to give today. These are  twisted white and red threads.

It is an old Bulgarian tradition wishing good health to people and cattle, by giving everyone a martenitza on March 1st. It is worn until the person sees a stork or other migrating bird. It is then tied on a flowering tree.

Decoration options are unlimited. The twists on the picture are just the base. Pompoms, tassels and bows are the simplest ones.