Fri, Feb 10 2012

Saint Andrew's Day celebrates bears at Sofia zoo

Wed, Nov 26 2008 12:22 CET

byMagdalena Rahn

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Sofia Zoopark will mark Saint Andrew's Day, known in Bulgaria as Andreevden (Андреевден) with a special ceremony dedicated to bears on November 30 2008. Saint Andrew is, in national tradition, something of the patron and leader of bears.

Sveti Andrei is said to have been the only apostle without a day dedicated to him, so he took a bear and went before God. God apparently told the saint: "Who ever does not celebrate your day, may your horse ride him." That is why, in some reasons of the country, on November 30, which is also known as Mechkin den (Мечкин ден/Bear Day), Bulgarians boil corn and throw it into the hearth, while saying: "Here is some boiled grain, bear, so don't eat it raw and take away people's food."

Andreevden is also marked, thus, as the festival of grain; wheat, beans, lentils, peas, millet and buckwheat are boiled early in the morning, then thrown up into the hearth to encourage the plants to grow tall and plentiful.

National tradition also has it that, on this day, daylight starts to increase.

In any case, November 30 2008 at the Sofia zoo will see festivities starting at 11am in front of the bear habitat. Later on, there will be demonstrations of how bears are counted in the wild, at the zoo's Ecological Centre, where there has been undertaken such a study.

A film about the brown bear in Bulgaria will be projected, and guests will be encouraged to participate in various games.

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