This document summarizes the activities of a Bulgarian school group for a European multi-lateral partnership project focused on traditions. The group visited local libraries and retirement homes where they learned folk songs, knitting, and how to make "martenitsi" decorations. They also participated in charity events like a Christmas bazaar. The document describes the legend and symbolism of the martenitsi tradition in Bulgaria, where red and white threads are worn in March to wish for health and speed the coming of spring. It provides details on crafting the decorations by hand tying red and white yarn.

1. Comenius mmuullttiillaatteerraall SScchhooooll ppaarrttnneerrsshhiipp
pprroojjeecctt
„„TTHHEE FFAAIIRRYYTTAALLEE OOFF TTHHEE EEUURROOPPEEAANN
GG((OOLLDD))EENN FFUUTTUURREE””
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be
held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.

2. Vocational High School Of
Tourism

3. Our team

4. Our Activities
Here we would like to present you a list wwiitthh oouurr aaccttiivviittiieess
rreeggaarrddiinngg tthhee sseeccoonndd cchhaapptteerr-- ""MMeemmoorriieess ffrroomm TTeeeennaaggee""
ooff tthhee bbooookk ""MMeemmoorriieess ffrroomm tthhee FFuuttuurree"" ffrroomm tthhee ""LLoobbbbyy
ffoorr aa HHoobbbbyy"" ccaammppaaiiggnn.. DDuurriinngg tthhееssee ppaasstt ffeeww mmoonntthhss wwee
vviissiitteedd::
• The library “Asen Zlatarov“
• The Pensioners' club “Liberation”
• The Home for the elderly "Tsveta and Anka Varbanovi"
We also took part in:
• Charity Christmas bazaar and auction
• Workshop for martenitsi making

5. Our Activities
Visiting the library "Asen Zlatarov“

6. Our Activities
Visiting the library "Asen Zlatarov“
At the library we listened to some oldtime city songs, sung by
the old ladies of the chоir "Retro“ lead by their director
Alexander Perperiev and we tried to learn one called “The
story of a love”.

7. Our Activities
Visiting the library "Asen Zlatarov“

8. Our Activities
Visiting the Pensioners' club "Liberation"

9. Our Activities
Visiting the Pensioners' club "Liberation"
The cclluubb hhaass aa 5500--yyeeaarr hhiissttoorryy..
HHiiss ddiirreeccttoorr IIvvaann AArraabboovv iiss aa
ffoorrmmeerr ssoollooiisstt ooff tthhee BBuurrggaass
OOppeerraa aanndd hhee iiss aann hhoonnoorraarryy
cciittiizzeenn ooff BBuurrggaass..

10. Our Activities
Visiting the Pensioners' club "Liberation"
TThheerree wwee lleeaarrnntt
hhooww ttoo kknniitt oonn
oonnee aanndd ttwwoo
nneeeeddlleess

11. Our Activities
Visiting the Pensioners' club "Liberation"

12. Our Activities
Visiting the Pensioners' club "Liberation"
And wwee lliisstteenneedd ttoo ssoommee ffoollkk ssoonnggss
aanndd ssoommee ppooeemmss,, wwrriitttteenn aanndd
rreecciitteedd bbyy oouurr eellddeerrllyy ffrriieennddss..

13. Our Activities
We took part at the charity Christmas bazaar
and charity auction at our school for raising
money for poor children and old people

14. Our Activities

15. Our Activities
Our team prepared tasty dishes for the
people at the Home for the elderly

16. Our Activities
Visiting the Home for the elderly "Tsveta and
Anka Varbanovi"

17. Our Activities
Visiting the Home for the elderly "Tsveta and
Anka Varbanovi"
At the home wwee lleeaarrnneedd hhooww ttoo mmaakkee
""mmaarrtteenniittssii"" aanndd hhooww ttoo kknniitt fflloowweerrss..

18. Our Activities

19. Our Activities

20. Our Activities

21. Our Activities

22. The Tradition
• TThhee LLeeggeenndd
Long ago, during the time of the Old, Great Bulgarian empire, its
ruler, khan Kubrat fell ill and at his death bed, the wise man
advised his five sons to stay united and keep the Bulgarian lands
together. Soon after his death, Khazars tribes invaded and took
the oldest son- Bayan and princess Huba as hostages. The other
siblings had no
choice, but to escape
and seek new lands
for their people, so
they split, despite the
words of their father.

23. The Tradition
Time passed and soon Huba and Bayan recived the news that the
youngest son, Asparuh, has found new land for the Bulgarian
people and they escaped from captivity and reached the land
around the river Danube. Pursuers of Khazars people appeared and
started to fire at the girl and her brother. Bayan was hurt by an
arrow. His blood stained the end of the white thread that became
red from his blood.

24. The Tradition
At this point, on the other strand of the river appeared Asparuh with
his soldiers. When the Khazars saw him they ran away. Asparuh
took the thread from his brother and tied its white end to its red end.
He put a piece of this sacred thread to his solders, telling them that
the unity of the red and white thread symbolized the unity of
Bulgaria. The thread was named “martenitsa”
on behalf of the month when all this
happened.

25. The Tradition
• WWhhaatt iiss MMaarrtteenniittssaa
The martenitsa is a small piece of adornment, made of
white and red yarn and worn from March 1 until around the
end of March.

26. The Tradition
• WWhhoo iiss BBaabbaa
MMaarrttaa??
The name of the
holiday is Baba
Marta. "Baba" is the
Bulgarian word for
"grandmother" and
Mart is the word for
the month of March.
Baba Marta is a
Bulgarian tradition
related to welcoming
the upcoming spring.

27. The Tradition
Baba Marta is seen
as an old lady who
has very contrasting
moods. This is related
to the weather during
the month of March,
which is extremely
variable in Bulgaria –
warm and sunny
weather means that
Baba Marta is happy;
when she is angry,
the winter frost
returns.

28. The Tradition
• WWhhaatt aarree tthhee ccoolloorrss ssyymmbboolliizziinngg??
The red and white woven threads symbolize the wish for
good health. They are the heralds of the coming spring in
Bulgaria and life in general. White as a color symbolizes
purity and red is a
symbol of life and
passion.

29. The Tradition
On the first day of March Bulgarians exchange and wear
white and red tassels and bangles. This is an old tradition
that remains almost unchanged today.

30. The Tradition
The common belief is that by wearing the red and white
colours of the martenitsa people ask Baba Marta for
mercy. They hope that it will make winter pass faster and
bring spring.

31. The Tradition
PPeeooppllee aarree
ssuuppppoosseedd ttoo ttaakkee
ooffff tthheeiirr mmaarrtteenniittssii
wwhheenn tthheeyy sseeee tthhee
ffiirrsstt ssiiggnnss tthhaatt
sspprriinngg hhaass
aallrreeaaddyy ccoommee -- aa
bblloooommiinngg ttrreeee oorr aa
ssttoorrkk..

32. The Making
IItt’’ss nnoott ddiiffffiiccuulltt ttoo
mmaakkee aa ssiimmppllee
mmaarrtteenniittccaa.. AAllll
yyoouu hhaavvee ttoo ddoo iiss
ttaakkee aa ssttrraanndd ooff
rreedd,, aa ssttrraanndd ooff
wwhhiittee yyaarrnn,, ttiieedd
tthheemm aatt tthhee eenndd
aanndd ttwwiisstteedd tthheemm
ttooggeetthheerr..

33. The Making

34. The Making

35. The Making

36. The Making

37. The Making

38. The Making
TThheerree aarree aallll
kkiinnddss ooff
mmaarrtteenniittccii aanndd
oonnee ooff tthheemm aarree
yyaarrnn ddoollllss,,
ccaalllleedd PPiizzhhoo aanndd
PPeennddaa.. TThheeyy aarree
vveerryy ppooppuullaarr
aanndd rreepprreesseenntt
ssmmaallll mmaallee aanndd
ffeemmaallee ffiigguurreess..

39. The Making

40. The Making

41. The Making

42. The Making

43. The Making

44. The Making

45. The Making

46. If you would like to see more pictures from our activities for
the project check out our blog
www.bg-goldenfuture.bbllooggssppoott..ccoomm