Kindergarten Childs Friend

Our Children
Present

Traditional
Spring
Festivities
in
Bulgaria

Celebrating
On the first day of March and for many days afterwards, Bulgarians
exchange and wear white symbols called Martenitsa.
The month of March, according to Bulgarian folklore, marks the beginning
of springtime. Therefore, the first day of March is a traditional holiday
associated with sending off winter and welcoming spring.
This is an old pagan tradition, that remains almost unchanged.
The common belief is that by wearing the red and white symbol, people ask
Baba Marta for mercy. They hope that she will chase winter away and bring
the long expected spring. The martenitsa symbolizes new life, conception,
fertility, and spring. The time during which it is worn is meant to be a joyful
holiday commemorating health and long life.

Martenitsas were also believed to help growth in nature, so they were

mostly worn by children, newlyweds.
Martenitsas were also tied on the newborn lambs, kids and calves, as
well as on fruit trees, beehives, vines, and under the eaves of the house.
! Chestita Baba Marta !
Happy Grandma Marta! Happy 1st of March!

One version connects the holiday to the ancient Roman of the New Year,
which was celebrated at the beginning of March, the month Mars.
The "martenitza" is also an odd artistic image of nature. At that period of the
year, nature is full of hopes and expectations. It also symbolized the purity
of the white snow going away and the red settings of the sun becoming
more and more intensive with the coming spring. These two natural
resources are necessary for the life as well as the male and female spirits.
Now "martenitza" symbolizes new life, conception, fertility, and spring.
This is a holiday for joy, health and long life.
Association Childs Friend, Bulgaria

Baba Marta /Granny Marta/

In ancient times, spring and summer were regarded as one

single season when the hard work in the fields : thats why in
many parts of Bulgaria summer was welcomed on March 1.
Before dawn on March 1, a fire was built outside each house,
and people jumped over it for protection against all evil, snakes
and lizards. Later on, a red cloth was hung under the eaves, to
make Granny Martha (March) happy and smiling /which
promised good weather/.
The magic rituals performed on this daycame from pagan times
and were intended to please "The Almighty Sun". The red
colour and the fire were believed to reinforce its life-giving
power, and future prosperity.
One of the most interesting March 1 traditions, is the wearing of
martenitsas which played the role of amulets protecting their wearers
from evil and bad luck.
The martenitsas, two intertwined threads, were made by the lady of the
house. The threads would be usually red and white, though in some
areas there were red-and-blue variants, or even only red.
According to the popular belief, red had the same power as the
sun, and like it could drive away all evil forces. That was why
the martenitsas protected their wearers from the evil eyes,
from the sorcerers, imps. dragons, vampires, bogeymen and
diseases with which the world supposedly abounded.

The martenitsa is also a symbol of Mother Nature.

In early spring Nature seems full of hopes and expectations. The white color
symbolizes snow, water and purity, red is the symbol of the sun, of life and
passion.
Both represent the source of life.
So this custom reminds people of the constant cycle of life and death, the balance
of good and evil, and of the sorrow and happiness in human life.
Wearing one or more martenitsi is very popular Bulgaria. Martenitsas are always
given as gifts. People never buy martenitsas for themselves.
They are given to loved ones, friends, and people whom one feels close to.
They are worn on clothing, or around the wrist or neck, until one sees the first
stork. Then one has to find a blooming tree
And hang his/her Martenitsas on its branches.

Every year our

children meet Baba
Marta with songs
and dances and
show their self made
Martenitsas at
Exhibitions in
schools at parks
and city squares.
!

Happy Granny March!

The martenitsas are carried on until the first storks and swallows come.
When people see a stork they can take the martenica off and put it on a
blooming tree with wishes for health and wealth. The traditional martenica
are red and white but in different regions of the country they can also be red
and blue, red, white and yellow or even made of seven different colors.
Martenitsas were never thrown away, for that meant throwing away your
good luck.

Happy Granny March!

Our children wish you a sunny,
healthy and smiling Spring!
Well soon show you the results
of our March Workshops.

We love SMILES!

Weliketolaughatfriendlyjokes.Andweareveryfondoffunny
stories.ThatmakesApril 1oneofourfavoritefestivities.
Thewholeweekbeforewewerebusy
Readingfunnystories;Makingfunnycrafts:faces,masksand
figurines;PlayingGames,Funnyfacesandpantomime;
Wehadacreativeworkshopwithparents,whichendedwith
ajoyfulConcertshowinthekindergartenwiththelovelypuppetswhich
Mrs.TzvetanaPlatikanovacreatedforus.

April

Lazarovden

(Lazar's Day)

Celebrated the last Saturday before Easter.

Only young girls can take part in the ritual. There are singers in the
group and one of the girls carries an egg-basket to collect the eggs
which the people from the visited houses give them as a present. On
Saturday afternoon and on Sunday before noon the girls go around the
village, entering each house and singing ritual songs to the family.
There are different songs for each of the family members, for which
they are presented with white eggs.
The girls choose their leader and sing a special song for her.
On Sunday the elder girls go to the centre of the village, to sing their
songs and dance the horo /a circle village dance/.

Lazarka

Lazars
Day
Our festive events
in the Kindergarten,
out in the yard,
and at the public
celebration.

Tzvetnitsa

Flower Day

Vrubnitsa is celebrated on the Sunday before Easter and is an important ritual for the young
unmarried girls, called "kumichene". The girls who have taken part in the Lazaruvane the
day before go together to the river bank, where the kumichene ritual will take place.
Each girl has prepared a wreath made of willow branches or spring flowers and floats it to
the surface of the water. They watch the wreaths flow down the river to see which one will
be first in the row. The girl whose wreath reaches farthest becomes kumitsa the leader of
the group, who is believed to have the magic power to chase away the dragon /always
looking for a young girl to carry away with him/. In the evening the lazarsko horo /circle
dance/ is played for the last time.

Tzvetnitsa / Vrubnitsa / is an important Spring festivity.

Last Sunday before Easter everybody goes to church, from where they take to carry
home sanctified willow branches, which are believed to help against evil eye and
different diseases.
All men, women and children with the name of a flower or tree celebrate their Name
day on Tzvetnitsa . On Name days, no invitation is needed to be a guest in any of the
celebrating homes. Everyone is welcome to share the treats of the family and bring
their present to the person with the name of a flower.

Margarita, Violeta, Lilly, Laura and Tzvetana have their Name day on Tzvetnitsa.

Kukeri

On several occasions during the year, special ritual games called Kukeri, take place in
Bulgaria. These games are performed by men only, dressed in colourful hand-made
costumes. The Kukeri games aim to scare away the evil spirits with their magic dances,
so that the crops can grow well and the harvest is rich.
The masked men jump, jingle with the bells, and make jokes. They roll on the ground
to gain power from it and become healthy. The bells are used in rituals of different cultures
as protection from bad magic.
The ritual games end with a big horo /a circle dance/ in the centre of the village. Then
the food and the money which the Kukeri gathered during the carnival y make a feast
with.

The Kukers masks are decorated with colorful threads, ribbons, laces and pieces of mirrors
and usually represent animals like rams, goats, bulls, or even chicken. Some of the masks
have two faces. On one side a good-humored face with a snub nose, and on the other an
ominous face with a hooked nose, symbolizing the coexistence of Good and Bad.

The decoration colours are very important: Red symbolizes fertility, sun fire;
Black represents Mother Earth, White is the symbol of water and light.
The Kukers usually wear furry coats. Each has a leather belt around the waist with big and loud
bells hanging from it. Some carry wooden swords, brooms, or other fearful instruments in their
hands.

Butterfly:

Only girls in their early teens take part in this ritual.

The main personage is the Butterfly a girl,
dressed in a white shirt and barefoot. She is
decorated with different kinds of grass and weeds.
The whole group goes around the village singing a
special song - request to God for more rain. The
Butterfly dances as the girls spill water on her,
which she has to shake off, imitating raindrops.
Then they all go to the river where they throw the green leaves and the decoration from the
butterfly, and sprinkle themselves with water.

Our Butterflies are more than one. All the girls wish to have wings

East
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