Bulgarian Days
November 29, 2009 2:09 PM   Subscribe

Happy Bear's Day, a Saint Day on the Bulgarian Festival Calendar.

Some others that caught my eye: Fire dancing Nestinars. Makaveyan Days – "all the sons-in-law gather in their fathers-in-law houses. After the meal the eldest son-in-law starts chasing the younger in the threshing-floor with a stick and beats them." Also The House of Humour and Satire in Grabovo [Proverb – A WORD makes no hole, a pinch tears no underskirt. Superstition – Sin 1. To give a child a spoon to play with].
posted by tellurian (7 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Turn down your sound--obnoxious autoplay music!
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:43 PM on November 29, 2009


Aside from the music, I really found the Bear's Day legends really interesting, particularly when compared against the modern bear situation in Bulgaria. The whole set of festival days and their attendent lengends and traditions is good stuff!

For instance, the St. Nikolas' Day traditional meal reminds me a bit of the American Thanksgiving experience (or mine, at least!), except with Carp instead of Turkey or Ham, or St. Anastasia's Day in which you fear the personification of black death and also housework, or St. Elijah's Day in which the oldest rooster is put to death in a town and the oldest bachelor annoints all of the younger bachelors who wish to begin looking for a wife.
posted by julen at 2:52 PM on November 29, 2009


Sorry about that, I didn't know (iMac + Safari = no music).
posted by tellurian at 2:56 PM on November 29, 2009


I'll let all the men at the Lone Star Saloon in San Francisco know!
posted by hippybear at 3:05 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]


I asked my Bulgarian friend about this and he says he hadn't paid attention to it before; there are so many name days that most aren't really special.
posted by LSK at 4:09 PM on November 29, 2009


For more fun, St. Guinefort, the Dog Saint. Not Bulgarian or a bear, but religious canon and cute animals go together great. (Please don't disprove that by bringing up graphic pics of animal sacrifices or whatever other gross stuff you guys have up your sleeves)
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:06 PM on November 29, 2009


My best friend opens the door to my room. Surprised, I yelp. She slams it immediately.
She: "Oh, oh. I'm sorry. Are you decent?"
Me: "No, I'm fine. Just looking at pictures of bears. I mean, uh..."
She: "..."
posted by griphus at 7:13 PM on November 29, 2009


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