Whether seen as a day to celebrate women’s
rights or as an occasion to show appreciation and respect for mothers,
partners, teachers, or colleagues, March 8 is more than a tradition from the recent past when
women were regarded with greater respect.
Of course, we don’t need a special day to give a flower or
express love and gratitude to the women in our lives, but it is nice to take at
least one day a year to reflect on what women have gone through to stand alongside men as full members of
our modern society.
What does March 8 actually mean for
Bulgarians, and will women receive a flower for the holiday? Radio Bulgaria’s
survey seeks to find out.
“March 8 is the day to honor mothers”, says nine-year-old Gabi. “We usually give our mothers flowers and cards.
Last year, my brother and I made a very beautiful card with a kitten holding a
heart, and it said ‘Happy March 8’. Usually, we give a small bouquet of flowers.
This year, I plan to make her a bracelet and a card, and my dad and brother
will give her flowers”, Gabi went on to say.
When asked whether a
special holiday is needed to make mom happy, she replies: “You don’t need a special occasion to give gifts. Sometimes
I make drawings or little pieces of jewelry. They are signs of love and
attention, to show that we love her and notice small changes in her, like a new
hairstyle or new clothes, when she is happy.”
A small gesture of
attention is considered essential for the holiday, which will be marked in one
way or another:
“This is a holiday
that should be observed and celebrated”, says Boryana Vladimirova, who hopes to
receive a flower for the occasion and stresses that women deserve respect.
Veselina Mitkova also
shares the view that women play an important role in today’s world and believes
it is essential to remember how they achieved their rights.
“In our family, everyone knows the meaning
of March 8, where it comes from, and what the suffragettes’ goals and struggles
were”, says Veselina, a mother of two. “Even the children understand the
origins of the holiday and its purpose. So we don’t see it as outdated or irrelevant
today.”
That’s why Veselina’s husband will give her
a flower, as he does every year.
Alexander Sandev will give a flower as
well, sharing the view that the holiday deserves to be observed.
“I think this is an important gesture—a
gesture of respect and love, which, in my view, shows attention and gratitude.
Skipping this day sends a biased and negative message. Many holidays are being
revised, even trivialized. This is a demonstration of a certain modernism,
nihilism”, said Alexander Sandev.
For Bulgarians, in addition to being the
source of life and the guardian of family traditions, the mother is a symbol of
boundless self-sacrifice, and the bond with her is sacred and deeply emotional.
She is the protector and the pillar of support, praised with love and affection
in the well-known children’s song “Mila Moya Mamo” (My Dear Mother). Every
year, Angelina greets her mother with this song, even though she is now grown
and has a daughter—from whom she will, of course, receive a flower. For her,
the Christian holiday honoring women and mothers—Annunciation—is also
important.
“This is perhaps one of the most beautiful
Christian holidays. Maybe it is time for us to start turning back to our
Orthodoxy—to awaken, because in these troubled times it may be our faith that
will sustain us”, said Angelina.
According to Alexander Sandev, the two
holidays dedicated to women are quite different in their nature and message.
“She is an equal human being, and we owe
her unconditional respect. There is also a very important detail: the most
venerated person is, in fact, a woman. The most revered figure in the Church is
a woman. She stands above the angels and above all ranks; in the hierarchy she
holds the highest place”, said Alexander Sandev.
Translated by Kostadin Atanasov