March 1st
In Bulgaria, March 1st marks the existence of a very unique tradition. Bulgarians at home and all around the world tie a white-and-red thread around their wrists or pin one on their coats or sweaters. This symbol is believed to protect the people, guard their happiness and health. The white-and-red thread, called martenitsa, is taken off and put under a stone when the flocks of storks start coming back to the country in the spring. Sometimes, martenitsa, can be tied to the branch of a tree to ensure that this tree will be healthy and give a lot of fruit that year. If you want to see what martenitsa looks like and what are the roots of this tradition, follow the link!
Five Right-wing Parties Compete for Power
This interview with the sociologist Vasil Tonchev reflects the state of Bulgarian political parties as the next Parliamentary elections are coming up. Recently there has been a split of the Union of Democratic Forces, a party that had the monopoly in the right political space. Tonchev is saying that this split is only natural as Bulgaria has to deal with such issues as Joining EU and NATO, on which opinions vary greatly. All the new parties are still very weak and so is the main party on the left – the Bulgarian Socialist Party. So, which is the least evil and who are we to vote for?
75 Years Imprisonment for Murderer of Bulgarian Student in USA
The murderer of Simeon Popov, a Bulgarian student at Syracuse University, was sentenced to 75 years of imprisonment without the right to pardon. The Afro-American Dominic Denard Jr shot Popov in the head as he was delivering a pizza order to an apartment. Considering the enormous number of Bulgarian students that study in the US, tragedies like this one fill the hearts of mothers that have sent their kids to study far from home with indescribable terror. All that we can hope for is that justice always emerges victorious as in this case but even then the pain of the loss never diminishes.