site.btaBulgarian Association in Romania Observes Midwives' Day Tradition
Bulgarian Roots, an association of the Bulgarian minority in Izvoarele, Romania, organized an event to observe the traditional feast day of Babinden, or Midwives' Day. Fifteen women took part.
"The founders of our organization are young people and want to preserve all the traditions and customs of the area. On January 21 we celebrated Babinden, an ancient women's festival in which the village honours its midwife and performs a ritual dedicated to fertility. Men were not allowed to participate. We are very happy that we managed to bring back this very old custom and that together with the women of the village we recreated for the first time in many years the Babinden of Izvoarele," Bianca Vasile, one of the founders of the association, told BTA.
She described the celebration as "emotional".
"The women told each other about their experiences, remembered the midwives in the village as well as the maternity hospitals of the past," said Viorica Roman, who helped organize the event. She could not hide her excitement. "It was a joy to be with them and learn stories they know from their grandmothers," she adds.
The feast fare included home-cooked dishes and homebrew. There were also dances.
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