Bulgarian Folklore
The main Bulgarian celebration events are : * Baba Marta, all of March, beginning with the 1st of march * Nestinari * Kukeri * Koleda (Christmas), Koledari * Velikden (Easter) * Name Days * International Mother's Day, March 8 * Independence Day, March 3 * Sveti, Sveti Kiril i Metodii, May 24 Other Bulgarian customs, specific for Bulgaria, worship God, the saints, the nature, the health, and chase away bad spirits : * St. Andrew's Day - 30 November * Antonovden - 17 January * Archangelden - 8 November * Christmas Eve * Budnik * Easter * Valtchi praznici * St George's Day * German * Dragon chasing * Gorestnici - 28,29,30 July * Dimitrovden - 26 October * St John's Eve - 24 June * Need-fire * Trifon Zarezan - 1 February / 14 February * Horse riding Todorovden - 1st Saturday of Lent * Feast of the Cross - 14 September * Lazarice (Lazarus Saturday) - 8 days before Easter in the name of Lazarus * Maccabees - ab 1 August for 12 days, to remember the Maccabees * Mratin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baba Marta
Baba Marta (, "Granny March") is the name of a Bulgarian mythical figure who brings with her the end of the cold winter and the beginning of the spring. Her holiday of the same name is celebrated in Bulgaria on 1 March with the exchange and wearing of martenitsi. Baba Marta folklore is also present in southeastern Serbia, namely in the municipalities of Bosilegrad and Dimitrovgrad, where there is a majority ethnic Bulgarian population living there. This is done as a reference as to a freezing weather change after a spring break. The Romanian holiday Mărțișor is related to Baba Marta. Baba Marta Day Bulgarians celebrate on March 1 a centuries-old tradition and exchange martenitsi on what is called the day of Baba Marta. The tradition of giving friends red-and-white interwoven strings brings health and happiness during the year and is a reminder that spring is near. Baba Marta ("Grandma March") is believed to be a feisty lady who always seems to be grudging at her two brothe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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German (Mythology)
German (''Герман'', GER-man, ) is a South Slavic mythological being, recorded in the folklore of eastern Serbia and northern Bulgaria. He is a male spirit associated with bringing rain and hail. His influence on these precipitations can be positive, resulting in the amount of rain beneficial for agriculture, or negative, with a drought, downpours, or hail. Rituals connected with German included making a doll intended to represent this personage. This effigy of German, made of rags, fired clay, or dried fruits, was rather large, usually with a distinct representation of the male genitals. It was produced and used in rituals exclusively by girls or young women. Janićijević, pages 184-186.Pešikan-Ljuštanović In Eastern Serbia, when a drought developed, girls would make such a doll, and bring it to a river bank. Depending on the regional custom, they would either bury it by the river, or put it in a little coffin and let it float down the river. Two of the girls would then ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maccabees (Bulgarian Custom)
The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees (, or , ; or ; , ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 167 BCE (after the Maccabean Revolt) to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from 104 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest, and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism. Etymology The name Maccabee is often used as a synonym for the entire Hasmonean dynasty, but the Maccabees proper comprised Judas Maccabeus and his four brothers. The name Maccabee was a personal epithet of Judah, and the later generations were not his direct descendants. One explanation of the name's origins is that it derives from the Aramaic ''maqqəḇa'', "the hammer", in recognition of Judah's ferocity in battle. The traditional Jewish explanation is that Maccabee ( ) i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lazarus Of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany is a figure of the New Testament whose life is restored by Jesus four days after his death, as told in the Gospel of John. The resurrection is considered one of the miracles of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lazarus is Veneration, venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead. The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Church, Catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life. In the context of the Book of Signs, seven signs in the Gospel of John, the raising of Lazarus at Bethany – today the town of Al-Eizariya in the West Bank, which translates to "the place of Lazarus" – is the climactic narrative: exemplifying the power of Jesus "over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanity: death. For this reason, it is given a prominent place in the gospel." The name ''Lazarus'' is frequently used in science and popular culture in reference to apparent restoration to life; for example, the scientific term Lazarus taxon denotes o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lazarus Saturday
Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches) refers to the moveable feast before Palm Sunday to which it is liturgically linked. It celebrates the Raising of Lazarus, raising of Lazarus of Bethany. Bethany is recorded in the New Testament as a small village in Judaea, the home of the siblings Mary of Bethany, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus, as well as that of Simon the Leper. Gospel of John, John's gospel reports that ''"Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead."'' Presumably, it is where he spent the Great Sabbath that occurs immediately before Passover, prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus is reported to have lodged there during Holy Week, and it is where anointing of Jesus, his anointing by Lazarus' sister Mary of Bethany, Mary took ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lazarice
Lazarice (), also known by its Bulgarian name Lazaruvane (), is a South Slavic traditional procession during the Eastern Orthodox feast of Lazareva Subota (corresponding to, but distinct from ''Lazarus Saturday'' in other Orthodox churches), the day before Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran .... The historians and anthropologists think that Lazarice originated from the Roman festival Rosalia, popularized in Southeastern Europe by the Romans after their conquest of Balkans in the 2nd century B.C. Slavic tribes, settled in the Balkans in 6th - 7th century was adopted and developed part of the Greek - Roman traditions in their rites.Bulgarian mythology. Българска митология. Енциклопедичен речник, Анани Стойне ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Feast Of The Cross (Bulgarien)
The Feast of the Holy Cross, or Feast of the Cross, commemorates the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different celebrations which honor and celebrate the cross used in the crucifixion. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, these feast days celebrate the Cross itself, as the sign of salvation. It is chiefly celebrated by Catholics ( Latin Church Catholics, Eastern Catholics), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Old Catholics, Lutherans and Anglicans, and to a lesser extent by Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists. The most common day of commemoration is September 14 for churches that use the Gregorian calendar and September 27 for churches that use the Julian calendar, Ge'ez calendar, or Coptic calendar. In English, the feast is called The Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the official translation of the Roman Missal, while the 1973 translation c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lent
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark and Gospel of Luke, Luke, before beginning his Ministry of Jesus, public ministry. Lent is usually observed in the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheranism, Lutheran, Moravian Church, Moravian, Anglican Communion, Anglican, United and uniting churches, United Protestant and Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christian traditions, among others. A number of Anabaptism, Anabaptist, Baptists, Baptist, Methodism, Methodist, Calvinism, Reformed (including certain Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continental Reformed, Presbyterianism, Presbyterian and Congregational church, Congregationalist churches), and Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational Ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trifon Zarezan
Trifon Zarezan () is a Bulgarian national custom observed on the 14 February (or the 1st in the Gregorian calendar) - in honor of Saint Tryphon. a martyr from the middle of the 3rd century. One of the popular holidays in the traditional Bulgarian holiday calendar. The Trifon Zarezan celebration is also known by various other names: ''The day of the wine makers, St. Trfon's day and others.'' St. Trifon is also known in other Balkan countries, it is affixed with the Orthodox calendar and is associated with the change of seasons from winter to spring. In traditional Bulgarian folklore, the feast of Trifon Zarezan is primarily associated with viticulture. It is a custom associated with the first step of the annual cycle of vine cultivation process - the grape vine spring pruning. Most Christian churches, including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, have adopted the New Julian calendar since 1968. From then on, Trifon Zarezan is celebrated on 1 February according to the Gregorian cal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Need-fire (Bulgaria)
In European folklore, a need-fire (; , , , ) is a fire kindled by friction, which is lit in a ritual and used as protective magic against murrain (infectious diseases affecting cattle), plague and witchcraft. It was a tradition in parts of Europe, practiced by Germanic, Gaelic and Slavic peoples until the 19th century, Frazer, James George (1922). '' The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion''Chapter 62, Section 8: The Need-fire Internet Sacred Text Archive. and by Albanians until the 20th century. A need-fire would usually be lit when there was an epidemic such as an outbreak of plague or cattle disease. In some regions, a need-fire was lit yearly to prevent such disasters. In the Scottish Highlands they were lit each year at Beltane (1 May), Hutton, Ronald. ''The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain''. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 220–225 in Poland they were lit on Saint Roch's Day, and in parts of Germany they were also lit yearly. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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St John's Eve (Bulgaria)
Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, feast day of Saint John the Baptist. This is one of the very few feast days marking a saint's birth, rather than their death. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John the Baptist, John was born six months before Jesus; therefore, the Feast Day, feast of John the Baptist was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas. In the Roman calendar, 24 June was the date of the summer solstice, and Saint John's Eve is closely associated with Midsummer festivities in Europe. Traditions are similar to those of May Day and include bonfires (St John's fires), feasting, processions, church services, and gathering wild plants. History Saint John's Day, the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, feast day of Saint John the Baptist, was established by the undivided Christian Church in the 4th century A.D., in honour of the birth of Saint John the Baptist, which the Christian ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |