On the 25th of March at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with the Ethnographic Museum - BAS, a unique evening was held - the "Festive table of Novruz and Blagovets".

Its organizers were the Spectrum 21st Century Association and the Diplomatic Spectrum magazine, the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the Cultural Representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sofia, representatives of the diasporas of Kazakhstan and Tatarstan and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum - BAS.

The event was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Bulgaria - H. E. Mr. Hussein Jalal Oglu Husseinov, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt - H. E. Mr. Khalid Ibrahim Emara, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India - H. E. Mr. Sanjay Rana, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran - H. E. Mr. Seyed Mohammad Javad Rasuli, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba - H. E. Mrs. Caridad Yamira Cueto Milián, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia - H. E. Mrs. Mrs. Sayanaa Lkhagvasuren, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in our country - H. E. Dr. Ahmed Al Madbuh, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia - H. E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Željko Jović, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation - H. E. Mr. Raymund Furrer, other diplomats and guests.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Diplomatic Spectrum Magazine and Co-Chair of the Spectrum 21st Century Association - Ms. Ekaterina Pavlova, and the Deputy Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with the Ethnographic Museum - BAS - Dr. Iglika Mishkova welcomed the guests.

Ms. Ekaterina Pavlova reminded that the event is part of the initiative of Spectrum 21st Century Association "Show the tradition! Give a holiday!", which for ten years have been striving to show the beauty of Bulgarian holidays and traditions to the representatives of the foreign missions in our country, and vice versa - to offer foreign holidays and traditions to the Bulgarian audience.

"Usually our partners in the events are different embassies. This time, in the troubling times of disease and the conflict, we, the people – representatives of the cultural sphere and the diasporas, decided to do it. Because we all believe that nations should compete only in the field of culture and that only through creativity and beauty, we can unite the world." And she added: "We do not celebrate Nowruz for the first time. At the idea of ​​the Cossack Mrs. Gulmira Bakirova, in 2016 we organized a round table at the Union of Bulgarian Journalists on the topic "Nowruz - a celebration of a new beginning". Immediately the embassies of the countries where Nowruz is celebrated and the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the Cultural Representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sofia, and the Diaspora gave a helping hand. Then, in 2017, again with them, we welcomed Nowruz and First Spring together here, in this museum. /You can find  more information about the event HERE.

For today’s evening we have chosen the theme "The Festive Table (Sofra) of Nowruz and Blagovets". In this interesting culinary journey through Bulgaria and the East our guides will be Prof. Dr. Nikolay Nikov – a distinguished Bulgarian ethnologist, doctor of music and dance, lecturer at a number of world universities, author of ten books and dozens of scientific publications on folklore, hundreds of popular science articles in media around the world, and of the scripts of 23 folklore films, and Ms. Gulmira Bakirova."

Dr. Nikolay Nikov told about the Bulgarian Blagovets

which is celebrated on March 25, the beginning of spring, and naturally in folk tradition the holiday is associated with the revival of nature. At the festive table there is a luchnik (a pie stuffed with finely chopped onions, mixed with walnuts and finely chopped peppers) and ritual round bread, smeared with honey which is given to neighbours and relatives. The Feast coincides with Lent, but the church allows the consummation of fish, olive oil and wine. Other typical dishes for the Blagovets table are pickled tomatoes, fresh nettle porridge and green onion salad with parsley and mint. There is no surprise that the saying "When Blagovets comes, we hold for green" has remained from that day, because the first edible plants sprout at that time.
In the past, it was believed that all wounds would heal easier and faster on this day, which is why people often got the little girls’ ears pierced. It was also believed that during the day any poison lost its power. A custom associated with this belief was for farmers to sweep their houses and yards and light fires to jump over to avoid being bitten by a snake in the summer. The women would not touch needles, hooks or threads.

Prof. Dr. Nikolay Nikov ritually sprinkled some salts, reminding, "The bread, wine and salt - the three incarnations of the Sun in mythology, are the popular Holy Trinity for Bulgarians" and are "a symbol of the sun's rays coming with spring, for the twinning of the people by the well-arranged tables, according to the old Bulgarian custom."

Then he presented the Folklore Club "Tanets", established in 2005 in Sofia by the choreographer Lachezaria Pavlova, awarded with the Silver Lyre Award by the Union of Music and Dance Artists in Bulgaria for achievements in the field of dance art. Its dancers perform authentic danses, music, customs from Shoplak and from other ethnographic regions of Bulgaria. Folklore Club "Tanets" has participated with great success in concerts and folklore festivals at home and abroad: in Jordan, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Cyprus, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Georgia, Turkey, Moldova. It has also won numerous awards.

The children of the dancers from the club, united under the name "Honey cake" - Nora, Desi, Coco, Valya, Ani, presented the custom "Blagovets-Dragovets" and the song "Tragna zhelka na oranye".

A dance from the Pleven region was performed by Niki and Nora - father and daughter.

Dr. Nikolay Nikov also spoke about Nowruz

which is celebrated by many eastern peoples on the day of the vernal equinox and is the oldest celebration of the New Year on earth. The holiday is also the first day of spring. Translated, Nowruz means "New Day" and is associated with joy, happiness and renewal of nature. In different countries the word is pronounced with slight differences: Novruz, Nauryz, Naruz, Navrez...

In 2009 the holiday was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO, and in 2010 the UN General Assembly declared March 21 the International Day of Nowruz.

An important element in the celebration is fire - the earthly incarnation of the Sun. And also the freshly sprouted green stalks of wheat, representing the resurrecting nature.

Nowruz is a holiday for family and friends, so the food, songs and dances occupy an important place in it. There should be seven dishes with names that begin with the letter "s" or "sh" on the table in almost all countries. In many of them there should be also seven objects placed on it.

The beauty and cheerfulness of Nowruz shone in the evening thanks to the people from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Tatarstan who are living in Sofia.

Sofia Shigaeva-Mitreska, director of the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at Sofia University, said: "Novruz is one of the greatest holidays for the Azerbaijani people and it is celebrated for three days - March 20, 21 and 22, but people start preparing for it forty days before it comes..." She presented the main elements of the holiday and their significance.

Then Damyan Mitreski and Alina Blazheva, children from the Azerbaijani diaspora recited the poems "Spring" by Vasil Popovich in Bulgarian and "Bayramların sultanı" ("Sultan of the Holidays") by Yusif Dirili in Azerbaijani.

Azerbaijan has its main heroes of Novruz: The Spring Girl, Kyosa and Kechal. "Kyosa and Kechal represent the struggle between winter and spring. Kechal characterizes the period before the awakening of nature, Kyosa is a symbol of the earth, prosperity, and the Spring Girl - of the emergence of vegetation" - explained Ms. Sofia Shigaeva-Mitreska. And her students from the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at the Sofia University - Georgi Tsvetkov and Preslav Tsanov, embodied the characters of Kyosa and Kechal and entertained the audience with talent and humour. Then they invited those present to try the strength of painted eggs - a typical highlight of the holiday in Azerbaijan. The student Nikoleta Dimitrova got into the role of the Spring Girl and performed a dance to the sounds of the song "Mən bahar qızıyam" ("I am a spring girl"). All the time, the two-year-old Venera Mitreska, the Princess of Spring, was making the evening even brighter.

Gulmira Bakirova made a presentation on the festive Nauryz dishes of Kazakhs and Tatars - Dastarkhan.

Ұлыстың Ұлыкүні /the most important day for the people/, the holiday of Nauryz, is an integral part of the ancient Tengrian cyclic calendar. As on every big holiday, every family prepares a rich nice holiday feast - Dastarkhan. Prayers in the name of the ancestors are recited before and after meals. The dish Nauryz-kozhe - /Spring soup/ is served.

While our brothers, the Tatars, have another tradition. On this day a group of children go from house to house to great everyone and wish prosperity and wealth (like the Bulgarian "koledars"). They receive from the hosts coloured hard-boiled eggs, sweets and seven types of cereals: rice, buckwheat, peas, millet, barley, oats, wheat."- said Ms. Bakirova.

Then on the street or at the highest point of the village the people gather together, light a fire, indulge in merriment. In a large cauldron they cook "Karga botkasi" /a "crow porridge"/. You can find out more about the table with Kazakhs and Tatas, HERE. 

The young Alika Avdyukova-Alimkhanova recited the verse "Welcome Spring".

The celebration is always accompanied by songs, dances and merriment. That is why the ladies who prepared the Kazakh and Tatar dishes - Aigerim Choleva, Aliya Egubaeva, Albina Racheva, Gulnar Alimkhanova, Rezeda Muhamedova and of course, Gulmira Bakirova danced folk dances from their countries.

Halil Duraliev from the Cultural Representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sofia spoke about the Iranian table of Nowruz.

He said that perhaps the oldest celebration of Nowruz on earth is in Iran. He noted that for Iran this is the New Year, the celebration of which lasts 13 days. Nowruz’s festive table is called "Haft Sin" and includes seven elements whose names begin with the letter "s". These are: sir (garlic), sib (apples), sabzi (greens), senjed (sea buckthorn), serke (vinegar), samanu (bread pudding) and sumac.

It should be reminded that last year the Spectrum 21st Century Association and the Diplomatic Spectrum presented the Iranian tradition of Nowruz with tea and enchanting beauty at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. You can read more about this event HERE.

Then came the big surprise of the evening from the Cultural Representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sofia, which recently has a new leader - Mr. Abdol Reza Abbasi, also present at the event. The guests had the unique chance to enjoy the virtuoso performances of the traditional Iranian music group - "Farhan", which arrived in Sofia especially for a concert at the National Palace of Culture on the occasion of Novruz. Sina Shafiabadi - vocals, Hossein Yazdi Tombak - tombac, Ali Hosni - ney, Poria Behtoi – santur were loudly applauded by the audience. And Mr. Halil Duraliev invited everyone to the concert of the group the next day at the National Palace of Culture.

Folklore Club "Tanets" ended the evening with traditional dances from Vidin and Sofia.

And then the guests tried oriental Nowruz dishes and Bulgarian dishes for Blagovets

The Cultural Representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran treated us with a unique cake, oriental sweets and tea.

The Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" prepared Azerbaijani baklava, shekerbur, shor gogali, as well as nuts and dried fruits, brought especially from Azerbaijan.

The diasporas of Kazakhstan and Tatarstan in Sofia received sincere compliments for the Nauruz kozhe soup and other specialties such as: baursaki (Kazakh and Tatar dough), angel wings (sweet pasta dish), zhent (Kazakh halva), echpochmak (Tatar triangular pies), chak-chak (sweet dish of fresh dough with honey and walnuts), Tatar carrot pie, nuts, dried fruits and candies.

The delicious Bulgarian table for Blagovets was prepared by our famous bakeries Ni-kai. And the wines of the Villa Melnik Wine Cellar enchanted everyone who tried them. In fact, everyone can enjoy them again very soon - on April 16th, the Lazarus Day, in the cellar of the village of Harsovo, Sandanski municipality.

The photos are from the organizers of the event and from Mrs. Stanislava Pekova, "Black and White" magazine.

First row: The Editor-in-Chief of the Diplomatic Spectrum magazine - Mrs. Ekaterina Pavlova, and the Deputy Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with the Ethnographic Museum - BAS - Dr. Iglika Mishkova, greeting the guests.

Second row: The festive table of Blagovets; the children from "Medena pitka" - Nora, Desi, Coco, Valya and Ani, present the custom "Blagovets-Dragovets"; Niki and Nora /father and daughter/ dancing a traditional dance from Pleven.

Third row: The festive table of Novruz in Azerbaijan; Mrs. Sofia Shigaeva-Mitreska with the children from the Azerbaijani diaspora; students from the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture of Sofia University - Georgi Tsvetkov and Preslav Tsanov, in the roles of Kyosa and Kechal; Nikoleta Dimitrova - The Spring Girl, performs the dance "I am a spring girl".

Fourth row: The festive table of Kazakhs and Tatars; Mrs. Gulmira Bakirova with Alika Avdyukova-Alimkhanova, who recited the verse "Welcome, Spring!"; the ladies from the Cossack and Tatar diasporas in our country, who prepared the holiday and performed dances from their countries.

Fifth row: the Iranian table of Nowruz; Mr. Halil Duraliev from the Cultural Representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sofia giving more information about it; the traditional Iranian music group Farhan amazed everyone with its virtuoso musical performances.

Sixth and seventh rows: shared moments of joy and friendship around the table