Bulgaria
Wow! What a fun night learning about Bulgaria! It was an evening filled with dance, music, fighting with eggs - yes you read that right - and of course getting to sample some absolutely delicious treats! Our cultural expert of the month, Pam, shared about her life as a child moving from Bulgaria to America as well as loads of fun trivia about the culture and language of Bulgaria.
We listened to some beautiful traditional music as well as learned a fun new dance. If you couldn’t make it this month, follow along on the below video and see if you and your family can learn it too!
Another thing we learned is that the Bulgaria is one of the biggest rose-oil producers in the world! The 130 km long Rose Valley in the Balkan mountains of Bulgaria is home to many rose plantations! The Damascena rose is both fragrant and beautiful. Each child went home with a pouch of these dried rose buds! They are great for making tea, rose water, decorating desserts, making ice cream, and even for bath herbs.
Being so close to Easter time, Pam showed us how to participate in a Bulgarian Easter egg “battle”. This is something you can do at home too. Simply hard-boil several eggs, let cool and then take turns colliding the eggs together. The egg that comes out un-cracked wins! Need to see it in action? Watch the video below of the Bulgarian first league teams competing in this traditional egg battle.
If your child wasn’t able to attend our Bulgaria night, here are some fun things your family can do together to experience a hint of Bulgarian culture.
Check out some fun books about Bulgaria from the library.
Listen/Watch the Videos above.
Try your hand (or feet) at learning a Bulgarian Dance!
Make a Rose inspired craft!
Bulgarian Treats at Home: If you live near a Trader Joe's, purchase their Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic and put it on bread to enjoy a taste of Bulgarian cuisine. You can also try Bulgarian Yogurt from your local Wholefoods Market! Since Bulgaria is known for their Roses, you can try rose flavored Turkish delight. Here is something very similar to what you would find in Bulgaria!
Read one of our Books of the Month that features a Bulgarian writer AND a Bulgarian storyline! Click here!
Download, Print and color the below coloring sheet!
I hope you will enjoy just a hint of at-home Bulgarian culture! Don’t stop there, encourage your kiddos to discover more through books and more. And be sure to join us for next months event on May 19th where we will learn all about Puerto Rico! Its going to be a blast!