Many children today will be having lesson and many adults will go to their jobs having on their wrist the known bracelet to all of us, which has the name ‘Martaki’ or ‘Martis’ (March).

This simple bracelet is constituted by 2 separate threads, which have red and white colour and they can either be twisted in between them, or they can be braided. According to folk tradition, the children mainly as well as the adults should wear the ‘Martaki’ on their hand wrist, so as to protect themselves and not get burned by the first Spring sun, on the 1^st of March.

With the red thread symbolizing happiness and the white one purity, the ‘Martis’ is made by rule on the last day of February. The bracelet is considered sacred and for that it should be worn until the night of Holy Saturday in Easter, when afterwards is thrown in ‘Lampratzia’ (big pile of fire), the fire that is turned on in front of every church in Cyprus, as to be burned along with Judas.

In other places of Greece, there are different customs regarding ‘Martaki’ with the most popular tradition stating that the two coloured bracelet is to be worn until the first swallows make their appearance.