On 24 November, the Christian Orthodox church marks the day of the Great Martyr Catherine who lived at the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th century. In Bulgarian folklore tradition, Catherine or Katerina, as she is called, is honoured as the patron saint of children. It is believed she helps ward off measles.
On this day, mothers with small children would knead dough. A small piece of the dough, covered in honey, would be left over the door or on the roof – a gift for Granny Measles who is said to have a sweet tooth. The rest of the dough was made into bread, and on the bread jam would be spread. The members of the household would break the bread while it was still warm with the words: “May St. Catherine help us”.
24 November is the name day of all people called Ekaterina or its derivatives like Katerina, Katya etc. That is why the song we have selected today is about a young girl named Katerina who became voevod or rebel leader. It is performed by the Children’s Folklore Group from Satovcha village in Southwestern Bulgaria.
Editing by Albena Bezovska
For thirty years now, Bulgarian violinist Iskrena Yordanova has been living in Lisbon. Everything she does as a musician is related to Baroque music. She has devoted much of her time to discovering ancient manuscripts, which she brings back to life with..
Kottarashky is one of the most intriguing musicians to have appeared on the Bulgarian music scene in the first decade of the 21 st century. The man behind the stage name is Nikola Gruev, and his work is an ongoing genre-blending experiment. He is..
Lovers of Japanese music will be able to enjoy a concert of traditional Japanese taiko drums performed by the band Wadaiko-Sai from Japan . The concert will be held in the capital's Bulgaria Hall at 7 p.m. as part of the Days of Japanese Culture in..
25 November has been designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by the United Nations since 1999. The idea is for..
Acoustic pop with roots in Bulgarian folklore – this is the music associated with the duo Dimitar & Hristo. Dimitar Atanasov, Hristo Mladenov and the..
Partly Cloudy
Mostly Cloudy