Peter’s field
is an area in the Strandzha Mountain, in the east of
Bulgaria, in which in 1903 a revolt started for the
addition of Strandzha, the parts of Thrace near Edirne
and the ones close to the White Sea, to liberated Bulgaria.
In the late 1950’s, an imposing monument was erected,
and in 2003 a church called Saint Petka. Now each August
this spot is the site of populous fairs visited by scores
of thousands of the offspring of Thracian refugees from
all over the country.
Besides its historical value, the locality has its high
ecological one. It was pronounced a protected territory
so that the characteristic landscape and the habitats
of rare birds and endangered plants be preserved.
Iliya’s field is an
area in the municipality of Ivaylovgrad, in the south
of Bulgaria, along the highway from Kardzhali to Ivaylovgrad.
In 1996, a memorial complex was erected there with
an original monument, a fountain and a St. Petka Balgarska
chapel in memory of the thousands of Thracian refugees,
of whom over 200 had been children, massacred during
the Inter-allies War of 1913. Each year on the first
Saturday of June, a national young people’s Thracian
fair is held here, on the occasion of the Day of the
Thracian Child, one of the most significant events
in the region.
Bagpipe competition in the village
of Gela (the first Saturday and Sunday in
August) - the village of Gela is in the Rhodopes,
close to the village of Shiroka laka, Southern Bulgaria.
It is the only place in Bulgaria where a national
fair is held that includes a bagpipe competition.
Each year, in August, the village resounds with the
sound of bagpipes played by the pupils at the Shiroka
laka school and by famous bagpipe players from the
vicinity and even by ones coming from as far as Australia,
Scotland, and Japan. During the fair, people from
all over Bulgaria and from abroad rediscover the beauty
and authenticity of bagpipe playing, and they feel
over and over again together, the magic of the Rhodope
mountain.
Baba Marta <old woman Martha>
– this falls on the 1st of March and is a festival
all over the country. On this day, all Bulgarians
present each other with a small martenitsa and, saying
“Happy Baba Marta,” they tie it around their wrists
or attach it to their clothes, wishing for good health.
It’s a tradition that is a thousand years old and
it marks winter’s end and the break of spring.
The martenitsa is made of white and red threads and
variously shaped. The classical article consists of
two parts – a red lad named Pizho and a white lass
named Penda. The red color has the power to shoo evil
away, particularly evil of the unseen and indefinite
kind that all the diseases owe their existence to.
White, in its turn, stands for purity, good health,
and a long life.
One carries a martenitsa till the day one spots a
swallow, a stork, or a tree in blossom; then one hangs
it on such a tree or else lays it under a stone.
Saint Trifon is
among the most curious festivals our people keeps
throughout the country. It falls on February 14th
and is also called Trifon’s Day, Clipper, Trifon Cutter,
Trifon Winedrinker, Trifon Drunkard, Snubnosed Trifon
etc. St. Trifon is the protector of vine growers only,
which is why he is only revered where a developed
vinery is or was to be found. The festival’s interest
lies not just in the rites but also with the manner
they are performed – ceremoniously and with a large
dose of theatrical and dramatic charge. The vine growers
taking part invariably put their best clothes on and
they bring dishes and wine to the vineyard. It’s habitual
for long processions of wine lovers to be trailing
behind them and up to the vineyard itself. There,
they “clip” their vines and then pour some wine over
the clipped place from out their flasks. That way,
they leaven the vineyard with the product of its fruit.
|
|
