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Baba Marta

(Grandmother March)

On the first day of March and for a few days afterwards, Bulgarians exchange and wear white and red tassels or small dolls called "martenitsa".

The name of the holiday is Baba Marta (Grandmother March). It is the ending of winter and the beginning of spring. Martenitsa is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and worn from March 1 until around the end of March (or the first time you see a stork, a swallow, or a budding tree).

The red and white woven threads symbolise the wish for good health. Martenitsas are the messengers of the coming of spring. No one is absolutely sure here the colours come from. An obvious explanation is that white as a colour symbolizes purity, red is a symbol of life and passion, thus some scientists have proposed that this custom might have reminded people of the constant cycle of life and death, the balance of good and evil, and of the sorrow and happiness in human life. Another popular explanation is that white stands for wisdom and red for good health, which means that anyone giving you a Martenitsa is wishing you both throughout the New Year. In March, martenitsas, worn around the wrists and on the clothes, can be seen almost everywhere in Bulgaria and in the neighbouring regions. Baba Marta is one of the oldest, still existing traditions in Europe.

Many people wear more than one martenitsa. They receive them as presents from relatives, close friends and colleagues. Martenitsas are usually worn pinned on the clothes, near the collar, or tied around the wrist. The small dolls are called Pizho and Penda. Pizho is the male doll, usually in white.

Penda is the female doll, usually in red, and is distinguished by her skirt

-Internet.

Birdman named best film of 2014

Birdman has been named the best movie at the 2014 Oscars.The story about a former superhero actor attempting an improbable comeback on Broadway won four Oscars, including best film and best director.Other winners on the night were Julianne Moore who picked up Best Actress for her film, Eddie Redmayne won best actor with his portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.Disney's BigHero 6 which won Best Animated Film.

Checkout the trailer for this film.All nominated Kiwis went home empty handed: Anthony McCarten lost out in the adapted screenplay category to The Immitation Game while The Hobbit also failed to win an award.

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Eating peanuts could prevent allergy

Research suggests that allowing young children to eat peanuts can help them avoid developing a peanut allergy.The British research has found that high-risk children who ate peanuts frequently up until the age of five were 80 percent less likely to develop a peanut allergy than those who did not.

This 'ground-breaking' research is very different from previous health advice but the research professor says that it is important that attention is turned to young children and infants in order to stop the increasing number of peanut allergies

-Internet





 

Town to change its name to Naminus

Protests have erupted in the Namibian town of Luderitz where there are plans to change the name of the town to Naminus.This new name was proposed by local tribal authorities and officials and includes 'clicking' sounds which are used in the language spoken by the Nama group in southern Africa.

However, many of the Luderitz residents are not as willing for the name change to take place. One resident believes that the new name will cause a decrease in international tourists as the strange name might not be recognised by computers. Issues with the new name also surround the fact that no one is certain how to pronounce or spell Naminus. What do you think,should the town's name be changed? Or should the resident's make the decision?

-Internet