Folklore and Crafts
Bulgaria is a country with diverse cultural heritage. The Bulgarian national folklore is worldwide admired. Phenomenal Bulgarian folk singers and ensembles make our country known worldwide. Bulgarian song is included in the Golden Record, which is sent into space by the two U.S. spacecraft Voyager, which in 2004 left the confines of the solar system. The spacecraft Voyager 1, launched on September 5 /1982, carries a plaque with the record of the song “Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin”-sung by Valya Balkanska.
The Bulgarian folk dances are a fairy of colors and rhythm. They are unique. You can express thousands of feelings with them. They are perfectly fine, and any movement in them is beautiful and fully sculpted, which brings a sense of adequacy and joy. As if they bring us back in the time to that incredibly rich culture, that has been possession to our grandparents. There is hardly any other place in the world with such as small area and in the same time with so many different folklore regions. We survived and have kept our identity and history, thanks to our folklore and music, in the songs rhythm, in the stories and the legends, where was praised our past and present.
The traditional Bulgarian musical instruments with authentic sounding are bagpipe, mandolin, wooden flute, dvoyanka, drum etc.
The national dresses are also very interesting and unique. The tints of the folk costumes are powered by the sun, the colors of the land and the wealth of the Bulgarian spirit. To merge the past and to enjoy the present, you must feel their magic. Some of the populist national costumes are the Thracian, the Rhodope, Shopski, from Vidin region and others. For various holidays the national costumes are extremely diverse. Along with language and song the Bulgarian national costume reveals the unity and diversity of our traditional culture. 
The traditional costumes are completely homemade, the fruit of labor, the taste and the creativity of the woman. In this process the male involvement is less- in some cases they have involved in processing of hides, or by their stitching together in clothes parts. Traditionally used materials are flax, hemp, cotton, wool and silk. The hide takes relatively limited area-for the fur cap, for the leggings, the sandals. In this way is differed the man’s suit, that is permeated in the high mountain areas. The women’s two-apron costume sets of shirt, two aprons (attached at the waist- one in the front and other in the back) and a belt. Buckles have a special place in a woman’s costume. Traditionally only married women have them, after their receiving as a gift by the engagement and or the wedding.
Some of the famous folk festivals are “Pirin pee”-in August, “Rozhen singing” –in September, authentic folklore in Koprishtitsa –in May-June, the festivals in Burgas and Varna-in August. Dozens of young and old people, as well as many foreign tourists, gather to enjoy the Bulgarian folklore.
If you visit one of the many colorful fairs, singing competitions, original folk festivals, which gather thousands of singers, musicians and dancers, where several Bulgarian generations sing, play and dance, maybe you yourself will find the key to this mystery, the key to the heart and the soul of Bulgaria.
Melodic sounds and wonderful voices, fiery dances and brightly colored costumes- Bulgarian folklore has to be seen, felt and experienced.
The world began to talk about “The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices and Dances”.
Crafts: Beauty gone through the time and tradition that we keep alive. That beauty, which you see with your eyes feel with your heart. You need only selfless love and infinite patience to achieve results. 
WEAVING-Weaving is traditional Bulgarian craft. Original techniques are used for the making of fabrics for home consumption. The basic raw materials are wood, goat’s hair, linen, hemp and cotton. For dying Bulgarians use mostly colorants of vegetables, animal and mineral origin.
EMBROIDERY – In the past embroidered with lace and beads has been used to decorate clothing. Today they still make slippers, decorated with tinsel and string beads. It is believed that this is a powerful amulet against bad luck and evil eyes.
KNITTING- The one-needle-knit exquisite laces and covers are precious decorations for the home. The making of wool-knit and cotton-knit socks requires a lot of time and skill. These patterns are interspersed in a unique way with the colors of nature. Variegated stripes encircle the white socks.
CERAMICS- Ceramics is an ancient craft, passed on from one generation to the next and from one kin to another. It is an exquisite art, preserving the characteristics features of different styles and epochs. Beautiful day vessels and pottery have been sculptured by the skillful hands of the masters. The wonderful shapes and colors create a feeling of uniqueness. Warmth and coziness stream out of these objects.
WOOD-CARVING – Only a gifted master can look at a piece of wood and see what can come out of it. It takes a lot of love and patience to inspirit twining sprigs, birds and flowers, made of simple pieces of wood. We can see marvelous samples of wood-carving on the ceilings of archaic houses, chests, tables and chairs, or church iconostases.
BELL-MAKING –The technology of bell-making is quite complicated, and masters have always guarded the secret jealously. But that secret holds the unique sense of music and the feeling of beauty and harmony that those masters carried inside their hearts. The bells used to be made with sixteen or nineteen different kinds of „voices” which formed the whole musical scale., with all its tones and semitones.
COPPERSMITHS’WORK – Coppersmiths’ work is another craft with traditions in Bulgaria. During the centuries, masters have made daily-life items, objects for the cattle and the farm. People say that the best coffee is made in a copper Turkish coffee-pot, and a brandy, heated in a copper vessel, tastes like heavenly honey.
And many other like: craftsmanship of antiques weapons, carving leather, craftsmanship of wrought iron, making jewelry, iconography, painting and fitting icons, cooperage, embroidered, wine vessel making…
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