Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-06
BULGARIAN MINISTER'S WIFE
PRAISES WOMEN OF COUNTRY
Have Helped to Preserve and
Garry on Love Of Tradi-
tons and HandiCratts.
Admires Peasant Women For
Depth OF Inward Life and
Moral SensitiVenesS.
By GRETCHEN SMITH.

! How for more than 1000 years the
/ womanhood of her country has helped
( to preserve and carry on knowledge
| and love Of the national traditions,
! folklore and handicraftS, despite GEN.
| turtles of foreign oppression and perSe-
! cutions is interestingly told by the
| wife of the Minister from Bulgaria,
! Nine. Simeon Radeff.
| Two weeks ago" she recalls, Bull
| garia celebrated the thcusandth annlver-
| sary of her greatest King. In the time
of that King. the Bulgarian nation had
remarkable civilization and q litera-
| ture which it transmitted to the other
! Slav people.
: In the fourteenth century the Bull
garians fell under Turkish domination,
which lasted four centuries. The ma
tional revival Of Bulgaria started again
LOG years ago and brought Bulgaria
from a poor, backward and enslaved
country to the haven of freedom and
prosperity which it now enjoys.
There were many reasons" con-
tinued Nine. RAIDER. for that revival,
but one of the most important was thai
Bulgarian women kept alive, during the
sinister time of our history, the tradi-
, tions of the nation.
Praises Peasant Women.
ANY time that I speak of the women
Of Bulgaria, my first thought is for the
| Bulgarian peasant women. I do not al
lude to their qualities as hard workers.
! to their devotion to family life or to
their thrift-peaSant women in this re-
spect are probably the same the world
I over What I admire in the peasant
woman of my country is the depth Of
her inward life-her moral sensitive
ness, her poetical feeling. Our folk
lore that aenaef ~ Il a ~
country women in the most impressive
way.
Nine. Radeff here sketched q delight
. full picture of a native Bulgarian Gus
tom, which is still in popular practice
and which has been one Of the greatest
factors in the preservation Of old
legends and traditions.
1T has for endless ages been the
custom of the boys and girls of the
village to gather in some popular home
on . Winter night after the days work
Is finished Taking their needle work,
for Bulgarian womans hands are all
ways busy, the girls sit together in a
group at one end of the room. while
the BOYS assemble in another corner
| They then start 10 sing improving as
| they go. The boys start the singing
perhaps relating a story or something
they wish to tell the girls. Sometimes
they send love messages which they
make known by singing In an imper-
sonal manner, sure, however, that their
fair listeners will catch the real mean
ing of their song
The girls will then answer by singing
also and in this way the songs Of the
people are being preserved and en-
, riched."
Costumes Still in Use.
"a, -
the Bulgarian countrywomen are still
used extensively-in fact. almost ex-
clusively-in the smaller villages and
towns removed from the modern capital
| Of Sonia. II is also becoming quite the
fashion among the society girls, Nine.
| Radeff said, to adopt the native cos
tune for Summer wear at the beaches
and watering places. Ths genuine
peasant costume Is usually of q heavy
cotton or linen or very heavy wool, but
recently there has been a movement
among women prominent in the life
Of the nation, to revive the use of the
lovely costumes, usually comprising 4
white blouse heavily embroidered and
black skirt, also covered with the silk
needlework, so Skillfully executed thct
it appears 10 be piece Of brocade, are
now being made in modern silks, and
II Is easily understood Why they should
be increasing in popularity among the
girls of Bulgarian social circles.
Incidentally Nine. Radeff explained
that most of the lovely silks now used
throughout her country, are of home
production and manufacture.
The silk industry is a very impor-
tant one In Bulgaria" she explained. In
the Southern part, especially, silk Is
produced in great quantities. Raising
| silk worms Is one of the chief oceupa-
tons of the old women. They also spin
the silk and use the raw product for the
making OF fabrics and laces."
Nine. Radeff proudly displays some
! Bulgarian handiwork, some of which
has proved its durability for many gen.
| erations. II includes many beautiful
| pieces of silk needlepoint lace, all OF
| which has been made by the Bulga rian
women. The unique feature Of the Bull