Bulgarians Dream Of... Fitness!

You, too, can do
the Bulgarian Split Squat! 
We disengage from any responsability 
if you hurt yourself, though!

Happy Baba Marta Day!

Chestita Baba Marta -  by Tanya Bartel

On this wondrous day, 

Bulgarians gift each other martenitsas 

- whether they are simple strings 

or cutefied figurines; the important thing is 

that they are red and white!

(Hey - like Santa! But, surely, 

that is just a mere coincidence...)

It's all about heralding spring coming 

-at long last- after the depressing 

winter temperatures...

(Ha - they didn't know 

how cozy they got it 

until they saw minus 35 degrees 

-Celsius, but still- 

in La Canada...! 

But that is another story...)

Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Happy Baba Marta Day, 

Bulgaria!

Old Man Winter is about to croak - 

thanks, in part, to an old cranky granny...! 

My, oh my; this Baba Marta here 

is mightier than even one Baba Iaga

or that other baba, Baba Dochia...! 

Take that, Russia and Romania! 

;-)

Whether it is a stork, swallow or crane you see, 

or the first sign of a soon-to-be blossomed tree 

good times are just around the corner 

which will find you luckier and healthier! 

(For warmer...!) 

Though as heartwarming as any account can be, 

this particular retelling of those olden days 

back in the ''old country'' (as some extradited souls 

would say today) while being a tad too 

sentimental and nostalgic 

cannot avoid making us remark 

that their white martenista there 

looks so much like 

le Bonhomme Carnaval 

alas...!

:-(

We're in a state of shock over this -

courtesy, ironically, of Shutterstock!

Although, in their more generic forms, 

neither one should evoke 

any goofish creation 

several centuries younger...! 

In fact, the two dolls made of strings 

have a name:

it's Pizho and Penda;

Pizho the male in white (?) 

and Penda the female in red 

(ah, hence 

The Lady In Red...

no? Oh - okay.)

Anyway... Once again... 

Честита Баба Марта!

Upside down you turn me...?

Must be that Bulgarian ingenuity at work again -

that which makes them compulsively 

pull each other down the ladder...? 

Unless it's just Blogger Boogery again.

But that's another story!