Babin Den

Today is the Slavic Babinden (bah-bean-den): Baba is "grandmother", and the in is possessive; den is "day", so the meaning is "Grandmother’s Day". It’s also called Midwives Day.

Babinden is an ancient festival, still celebrated in Bulgaria, to give thanks and show respect to the women (or men) who have helped in the child birthing process, and for all the other skills and knowledge the grandmothers have: Growing food, cooking, herb lore, looking after their grandchildren, and teaching folklore and traditions. 

The roots of this festival, however, are in fertility rites. In Bulgaria, a house full of healthy and beautiful children is a basic value, and so this is still the underlying focus of the rituals on Babinden.

Early in the morning, young women in Bulgaria visit the local midwife or doctor. They bring gifts (socks and shirts), soap, a towel, hot water in a ceramic bottle, and their young children. They perform a complicated symbolic hand-washing ritual, the purpose of which is to ensure easy births in the future and tall, strong children. The midwife gives a silver coin to each child she has delivered.

About lunchtime all the women go back to the midwife’s house without their children, bringing gifts and food: Bread, chicken, sweets, wine and brandy. This is a "women’s only" party (except the doctor might be a man, and sometimes male musicians attend- but they must dress as women) and it gets pretty wild! The women drink, dance, sing dirty songs, tell jokes, and gossip, and it goes on into the night.

Agenda today:
1. Journal:
Today is a good day to think about all the grandmothers in my life: My ancestors and my friends. Also, think about the grandchildren in my life: Honorary grandchildren of the present, and possible children-of-my-children, sometime in the future.

What burning questions would I like to ask my grandmothers? 
What wisdom would I like to share with my grandchildren?

Make a list of grandmothers I have had, and those I have still, and plan small ways to honor each of them in the coming weeks (cards, gifts, food, visits, a candle and a prayer...).

2. Housework:
Every year on Distaff Day I kick off a month of deep cleaning. My house has certain mold-related issues that need attention now, and, also, I like to do indoor painting while I don't have gardening chores calling to me.

I take it one room at a time, and this week I will work on the bedrooms (because they seem to relate to fertility). I hope to:

• Wash the bedding.
• Vacuum and dust, especially under and around the bed.
• Clean the mold from the walls and window.
• Touch up the paint.

3. Make pitka, Bulgarian bread:

Pitka is a basic Bulgarian bread recipe that is made in many ways, with cheese filling, or with honey, etc. I stuck to simple buttery bread, formed as rolls but then baked together so you need to pull it apart to eat it.

This is a nice gift for a Grandmother in your life!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 c. milk 
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3 eggs (reserve 1 egg yolk for brushing)
• 5 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 4 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 6 c. flour
• 1/4 c. butter

Yield: 1 loaf-

1- Heat the milk to warm (100º), and combine with the sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy. 

Kneading with a bread hook.

2- Combine the eggs (reserve 1 yolk for brushing), yogurt, and oil in a small bowl. Whisk the salt and flour together in large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and the egg mixture to the flour, and mix to make a smooth, soft dough, slightly sticky to the touch. (I mixed on low in my Kitchenaide).

3- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes (I used the bread hook on my Kitchenaide).

4- Divide dough into 3 balls in a large greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

5- Oil a 9 or 10-inch round cake pan or spring-form pan. Melt the butter. On a floured surface, divide the dough into 6 or 7 pieces, each about 7-inches long.

Before final rising.

6- Brush one side of each piece with the melted butter, roll up into a spiral, brush some more butter onto the outside, and put it in the pan. Repeat to make 6 or 7 rolls.

7- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Let the rolls rise again until they fill the pan, then brush with the egg yolk thinned with a little water, and put them in the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden on the outside and completely baked on the inside.

5. Painted Grandmothers:
My art class students painted pictures of traditional-looking grandmothers in headscarves (I found the idea here), and made cards for their own grandmothers.

Supplies:

• books with Eastern European designs
• watercolor paper
• pencils
• water-soluble crayons
• water
• brushes
• scissors

1- Draw the shape of the grandmother onto a piece of watercolor paper with pencil. (I made a cardboard template as a model.)

Add the face, the arms, the legs, and the shoes.

2- Look at samples of Eastern European designs and sketch several you might want to use.

3- Begin to draw outlines of patterns to fill the spaces on the dress and the scarf. Keep them simple, as you will be using crayons to add color.

4- Color in the shapes and patterns, and use a slightly damp brush to blend the colors. 

The trick to using water-soluble crayons is to color softly, and use only a tiny bit of water to blend.

5- When the crayon is dry, go back around every shape and design with black Sharpie.

6- The last step is to cut out the grandmother and mount it onto a card!












6. Hand-washing ceremony:

In Bulgaria and elsewhere, water is a symbol of purity and has healing powers. Many Bulgarians will have a house-blessing after Epiphany (January 6) with a sprinkling of holy water, and several other water related rituals are also performed this month.

We had a small hand-washing ceremony at the end of art class this week, outside under the apple tree. My students got to hand me the soap, and pour water over my hands. I splashed the water up into the air and said "May you all be tall, beautiful, and healthy!" Then I gave them each a silver coin from my stash of foreign coins!