Wednesday morning in Sofia

Baba Marta!!! (Grandma March)

       For those of you who haven’t heard about it so far this is a Bulgarian tradition related to welcoming the upcoming spring. It's one of my favorites! 

     We celebrate Baba Marta on the 1^st of March by exchanging martenitsi. They are normally made by red (the symbol of passion) and white (the symbol of purity) woven threads which symbolize the wish for good health.

     Who is Baba Marta (Grandma March)? 

     She is an old lady whose mood changes very rapidly. 

     By wearing the red and white colors of the martenitsa we are asking Baba Marta for mercy and we hope that the winter will pass fast and the spring will come sooner.  Again as per the tradition we are wearing our martenitsi until we see a stork or a blooming tree. This means that Marta is in a good mood and is about to retire. So we can put off our martenitsa and tie it on a branch of a fruit tree.

     My favorite part of this tradition is the process of making your martenitsa. Of course you can just go out and buy it, if you are in Bulgaria .But I do prefer to take the time and make my own martenitsi. :)

Do something different!

        It's always so nice when you find some time to escape from the daily routine and do something different, don't you think? :)

       This is what I did! I spent today's afternoon in a small workshop in the center of Sofia called "Zелена" and I had a very nice time and a lot of fun. You should try it too! :)

       And now the result of two hours hard work! :)

 

I think that it's not bad at all for a first try and I am sure that it won't be my last :)

„Surva Festival“ - International Kuker Festival in Pernik, Bulgaria

What do you know about Kukeri?

For those of you who haven't here are some tips :)

Costumed men and women, called Kukeri, are performing traditional Bulgarian ritual which should scare away evil spirits.

            The Kukeri are wearing big and scary wooden masks and large bells attached to the belt. Colorful handmade costumes are covering the body. They are walking and dancing through the village creating a lot of noise to scare the evil spirits away and to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year. 

There is a very big festival which takes pace in the end of January in Perkin (near Sofia) known as Surva Festival. There are Kukeri form all over Bulgaria. The Kuker festival has been healed there since 1966.

It was about time to go there on my own as it’s not so far away form Sofia. So we did and I have to say that we’ve had a very good time.

I’ve even managed to take some picture! :)

If you are interested to see more you can go and check the videos in YouTuBe.com.

Dabene Kuker Group 

Surva Festival 2013