Martinki are handmade amulets of twisted white and red threads, worn for protection. They are made in the evening before the holiday by the women in their home, usually from wool. The white color is a symbol of heavenly light, the day and purity, whereas the red is a symbol of the blood, the new life and female fertility. By interweaving of the white and red threads it signifies the interweaving of the heavenly and the earthly, the male and the female, which is a condition for harmony, fertility, love, health and happiness.
In the past, they were usually worn by kids and young women, rarely by young men and adults. Today, they are given to the loved ones and are worn around the wrists or attached to the clothes. One wears it for several days, up to several weeks during March, and this is mainly associated with the arrival of the migratory birds from south. So, one should wear it until they see the first swallow or the first stork, and then hang it on a tree in blossom.
