Kindergarten Childs Friend

Traditional
Spring
Festivities
in
Bulgaria

Every year, Bulgarians and Romanians welcome the coming spring on March 1
by a traditional exchange of ornaments made of red and white string. Called
martenitsa in Bulgarian and mrior in Romanian, they can be pinned to the
chest, worn as bracelets or around the neck.
Though the two countries traditions are not identical, they are strikingly similar.
Despite some minor differences, the March ritual seems to be just another
commonality between the EUs two newest members, though both Romanians
and Bulgarians seem to regard it as uniquely their own and are often unaware of
the parallel tradition existing just across the Danube.
Association Childs Friend,
Bulgaria

Baba Marta /Granny March/

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

Martenitsas were also believed to aid growth in nature, so they were mostly worn by children,
by lads and lasses, and by 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.

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.

For the show in the Kindergarten the children are dressed in red and white.

 ! Chestita Baba Marta !

Happy Grandma Marta! Happy 1st of March!

In Bulgaria the day is known as Baba Marta (Grandma Marta) the benevolent but
unpredictable (like the weather in March) old lady.
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

Association Childs Friend

and all Bulgarian children
send March greetings and
good wishes to all friends
in Europe.

Kids enjoy the presents of Baba Marta as much as the ones brought by Santa
Claus. Wearing the martenitsa, we believe that hereon everything will be better, we
are happy that winter is over, and the spring is coming with all its promises.

Spring
Decorations

The children of Childs Friend made an exhibition of their self made Matrenitsas.

Happy
Granny
!

March!

Association Childs Friend, BULGARIA

Happy Granny March!

Bulgarian children wish you a sunny,
fertile, healthy and smiling Spring!

Workshop with
parents

Happy with our work

Ready for
the
Celebration

Granys Workshop at home

Celebrating
on stage

Kindergarten
Childs Friend
Celebrating 8 March
Mothers Day

Happy children, happy mothers, happy

families

Presents for
Mom

We love SMILES!
We like to laugh at friendly jokes. And we
are very fond of funny stories. That makes
April 1 one of our favorite festivities.
The whole week before we were busy
Reading funny stories; Making funny
crafts: faces, masks and figurines; Playing
Games, Funny faces and pantomime ;
We had a creative workshop with
our parents, which ended with a
joyful Concert show in the kindergarten
with the lovely puppets which Mrs.
Tzvetana Platikanova created for us.

Workshop making paper clowns

1 April Show
in the Kindergarten

Well be back soon.

HAPPY SPRING!

Fun with puppets

 . 11.10.2013 .
, , , ,
,

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.

Celebration in the
European
Information
Centre.
According to the tradition
only girls can be Lazarki,
but this time boys were
allowed to take part in
the festivity.

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.

KuKeRi in the Kindergarten

KuKeRi

KuKeRi

Kukeri
Kukeri
Carnival
Carnival

Kindergarten Childs Friend

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
er

Easte
r