Not much is known about the small country in Eastern Europe - Bulgaria. As a student who, with the help of the ASSIST organization, has the chance to be part of the Tower Hill community I would like to write and present to you a series of articles with intriguing information about my country of birth.
Located in South-Eastern Europe, the country is in one of the most important and controversial places - the passage between Asia and Europe, a passage that was essential in the previous centuries. That placement has led to the constant exposure of the Bulgarians to both Asian and European cultures, understandings, and way of living.
Established in 681 AD, the country the oldest one in Europe. With that in mind, it is hard to believe that the country has never changed its name since the very beginning.
The story of the land and the people begins long before that. Some of the earliest traces of human activity, from 150,000 years ago, are in the lands of modern Bulgaria. Remains from Homo sapiens date back to 47,000 years BP, which represents the earliest arrival of modern humans in Europe.
The country is the home of the oldest processed gold in the whole world dating from 4,600 BC to 4,200 BC. The Varna Necropolis (Варненски некропол), or Varna Cemetery, is a burial site in Varna, the biggest city on the coast of Bulgaria.
"Varna is the oldest cemetery yet found where humans were buried with abundant golden ornaments. … The weight and the number of gold finds in the Varna cemetery exceeds by several times the combined weight and number of all of the gold artifacts found in all excavated sites of the same millennium, 5000-4000 BC, from all over the world, including Mesopotamia and Egypt. … Three graves contained gold objects that together accounted for more than half of the total weight of all gold grave goods yielded by the cemetery. A scepter, symbol of a supreme secular or religious authority, was discovered in each of these three graves." (Slavchev, Vladimir 2010)
In 681 the country was established through a peace treaty between Khan Asparuh and the Byzantine empire. After the death of Aspauh’s father Kubrat, who had established a spacious state "Great Bulgaria" in the steppes of modern Ukraine. There is a legend which states that, as khan Kubrat was dying, he ordered his sons to fetch a bundle of sticks and told them to break the bundle in two. When none of the sons managed to break the bundle, the Khan took the sticks and broke them one by one with his feeble hands. The sons understood their father's message: their strength depended upon their unity. The khan died some time after AD 651 as a powerful and respected ruler. The five sons, however, went their separate ways and Great Bulgaria gradually fell apart. The fifth son (or third - sources conflict), Asparukh, was elected to further the work of his father. He led one of the Bulgar tribes(30,000 to 50,000 Bulgars) to the Danubian delta where he laid the foundations of the Bulgarian state.
One of the most Beautiful Bulgarian traditions, that we revive in Bulgaria every March, comes from that time. The legend says that Khan Asparuh had a sister called Huba. She was held captive in another kingdom. Asparuh sent a message by a falcon(or a dove) to his sister that he had found a land where they could settle down south of the Danube River(nowadays Bulgaria).
When Huba got the good news from her brother, she managed to escape from captivity and run away. She rode on horseback without stopping until she reached the Danube River. She looked for some way to cross the mighty river but couldn’t find a ford to pass across. So then she tied a thread of white yarn to one of the legs of the falcon sent by her brother and let the bird fly up into the air, holding the other end of the thin thread in her hands.
The falcon flew away to find a ford for passage across the river and just then, when it found a place, an arrow shot by an enemy pierced the falcon, and it fell to the ground dead. The yarn became red from the bird's blood. Huba followed the thread she was holding and so she found the way to cross the great river and reach the country where her brother Asparuh had made his new home. Then they lived free and happy in the new land they called Bulgaria. That day was March 1st, the new year in the tradition of those times.
They called the white and red threads of yarn after the name of the month March(Март), and named it ‘Martenitsa’(Мартеница). The Martenitsa became a symbol of peace and love, health and happiness.
The white color symbolizes purity and honesty in relationships, and the red color means life, passion, and cordiality in friendship and mutual love.
Today we follow the tradition on 1st of March to give Martenitsa to every person we love, cherish, and to whom we wish happiness, health, and prosperity. During the month when a person sees a blossoming tree or a stork he should hang their Martenitsa on a the tree.
Each year more than 15 million Martinitsa’s will be exchanged between the people in Bulgaria.
Another tradition is to see what the weather will be on the first day of March. That way we judge about our luck(or the weather) during the year(or the month).
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