In this research I approached two very different themes, the Festivals in Portugal and Bulgaria, and I talking about some differences. After that, I also talked about Bulgaria in a month.

In my opinion, I think it is very interesting to do research like this, because it lets us know a little better of a completely different country.

In Portugal there are several types of Festivals. From music festivals to festivals of gastronomy or typical dances.

Despite the wide variety we can find, here I will present the most popular.

1. Music Festivals:

In Portugal there are many music festivals that attract people from all over Europe. In 2017 there were 249 music festivals throughout the year.

The most popular music festivals are:

• Vodafone Paredes de Coura- The history of music in Portugal would not be the same without the Paredes de Coura Festival. He is 25 years old and is the oldest Portuguese festival. With a careful and coherent schedule, always faithful to the alternative spirit that characterizes it, the Festival Paredes de Coura, which happens next to the fluvial beach of Taboão in Paredes de Coura was already considered one of the 5 best music festivals in Europe by Rolling Stone magazine.

This festival happens every eyear in August.

For more information: https://www.paredesdecoura.com/

• MEO Sudoeste- Is a large five-day music festival, that began in 1997 and takes place every August in Odemira, in southern Portugal. The festival has three stages which play different music simultaneously.

Camping is free for anyone who purchases a four-night ticket. During the day, the festival features a jazz bar and a free shuttle service to the nearby town of Zambujeira do Mar for shopping, eating, and beach activities.

For more information: http://sudoeste.meo.pt/

• Sumol Summer Fest- Is a two-day music festival in Ericeira, Portugal. With a skate park, a famous spot for surfing and golden beaches for sunbathing, this event provides the perfect match between a music festival and a summer holiday.

Every year, an alignment of DJs, rappers and other artists head to this seaside village for a weekend of phenomenal parties, to the sounds of hiphop, house, reggae and dancehall rhythms.

For more information: http://sumolsummerfest.com/

• NOS Alive- is a music and arts festival which takes place in Oeiras, Portugal.

Despite its recent creation, the festival has achieved considerable popularity both inside and outside of Portugal, with the UK magazine NME placing in one of the top 12 European festivals in 2009. In 2012, NME.com’s readers rated the festival 10 out of 10.

For more information: http://nosalive.com/en/

https://portuguesemusicfestivals.com/

• Rock In Rio: Is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rock in Rio is one of the largest music festivals in the world, with 1.5 million people attending the first event, 700,000 attending the second and fourth, about 1.2 million attending the third, and about 350,000 people attending each of the three Lisbon events.

For more information: https://rockinriolisboa.sapo.pt/lisboa/pt-PT

• Santa Casa Alfama- Is a music festival that celebrates true and traditional Portuguese music, in the heart of Lisbon.

Over the course of two days, the neighborhood of Alfama is populated by Fado (traditional portuguese music) artists and fans of all ages, as impressive buildings, streets and squares are transformed into small stages with live music.

With ten stages and more than forty artists, the festival invites music lovers to celebrate the traditional sounds of Portuguese music among the beautiful architecture of Lisbon’s oldest district.

For more information: https://www.festicket.com/pt/

1. Gastronomic Festivals:

Portuguese food, although restricted to a relatively small geographical area, shows Atlantic and Mediterranean influences, as can be seen in the amount of fish traditionally consumed.

The base of the gastronomy contains especially with bread, wine and olive oil, adding the vegetables, as in varied soups, and the fresh fruits.

The meat, mainly of pork, also composes a set of dishes and regional snacks, regional snacks, where the hams and sausages stand out. Portuguese cuisine quickly integrated the use of spices, sugar, and other products, such as beans and potatoes, which were adopted as essential products.

• Festival Nacional de Gastronomia: A festival with all the Portuguese gastronomy, in the main gastronomic show of the country, that takes place in Santarém, in the months of October and November.

Aromatic herbs, spices, cheeses, fresh fish and convent candies are some of the delicacies that this gastronomic fair has to offer us.

For more Information: https://ptpt.facebook.com/FestivalNacionalGastronomia

1. Typical dance festivals:

The Folklore is a typically Portuguese dance performed by people of all ages.

This tradition has always been present in Portugal, always taught by the older people and this typical dance stays from generation to generation until today.

The Folklore, formerly, was a way of animating the party’s of the poorest population, so the clothes refer to this, poverty but at the same time the happiness of the Portuguese people, the clothes are quite elaborate.

Folklore performances take place throughout the year in popular festivals, but the most popular can be seen in the months of June, July and August.

Bulgaria is a country with rich culture and unique traditions. Bulgarians are very proud of them, and they have been passed from generation to generation for years. From chasing evil spirits away to barefoot dances on smoldering embers, Bulgarian traditions showcased at these festivals in Bulgaria will leave anyone completely surprise.

• Lazaruvane: is an old Bulgarian custom, which is performed to welcome spring. It is celebrated on the day of St. Lazarus – the Saturday eight days before Easter. It is only performed by girls and it symbolize the growth of the girl. Once a girl has performed this ritual, it is considered that she’s ready for marriage. On the day of St. Lazarus a group of girls crosses the whole village and sings folklore songs while visiting all the houses in the village.

• Lazaruvane: is an old Bulgarian custom, which is performed to welcome spring. It is celebrated on the day of St. Lazarus – the Saturday eight days before Easter. It is only performed by girls and it symbolize the growth of the girl. Once a girl has performed this ritual, it is considered that she’s ready for marriage. On the day of St. Lazarus a group of girls crosses the whole village and sings folklore songs while visiting all the houses in the village.

• “1000 Bulgarian Folk Costumes in One Place”: The Festival “1000 Bulgarian Folk Costumes in One Place” is about promoting the folk and cultural diversity of Bulgaria. 1000 traditional Bulgarian folk costumes are gathering together on April 13th to show that traditions in Bulgaria are alive. Traditionally a huge round dance is performed by all the participants in the festival which starts at 10:30 am in Razlog city center.

• The Humour Carnival in Gabrovo: The Humour Carnival in Gabrovo draws thousands of visitors every year from Bulgaria and abroad. The day is full with street festivities, funny rituals, giant sculptures, fancy-dressed partiesand a lot of smiles. You can also take part of the street carnival if you wear a mask and follow the famed Gabrovo cat which leads the crowd. The theme of this year’s Carnival is “No Gabrovo citizen and no cat land on their backs”. This unique carnival ranks the town of Gabrovo among the rightful members of the Foundation of the European Carnival Cities.

• Nestinarstvo: The ancient Bulgarian ritual Nestinarstvo is held to ensure the well-being and fertility of the village Bulgari in south-east Bulgaria. The ritual is famous with its unique barefoot dances on fire performed by nestinari who inherited the right to perform the fire-dance. The whole ritual lasts all day long on 3th of June and the festival culminates in a fire-dance in the evening as the highest form of veneration of the Saints.

• Rose Festival in Kazanlak: Bulgaria is also famous with its roses. This small country produces about 70% of the rose oil in the world.That’s why every year a special event is dedicated to the fragrance of the priceless Bulgarian rose. The Rose Festival is held in Kazanlak which is part of the Rose Valley in the country. The first week of June is filled with different attractions and events every day. There are also rose picking rituals in different villages, “Queen Rose” competition, a folklore festival, fireworks show and many more.

• Cherry Festival: This June Kyustendil will host the Cherry Festival. This is related with Kyustendil’s reputation as the Fruit Garden of Bulgaria. For two consecutive days in June there will be a festival devoted to various sorts of cherries, which were produced in the region of Kyustendil. There will be rich artistic program with dances, rituals, songs which present the magic of the cherry and its influence on Bulgarian folklore.

• International Folklore Festival Burgas: Every year the city of Burgas hosts a significant international event for folklore admirers which gather together folklore singers and dancers from all around the world. The International Folklore Festival lasts for several days and includes many concerts in the region as well as a big concerts on the stage of Summer Theater in Burgas. The Fest also is a place where you can see many festive defiles, informational sessions, demonstration of folk crafts, bazaar of traditional souvenirs, etc.

With this small research work I realized that there are some similarities and differences between the festivals in Portugal and in Bulgaria.

I have come to understand that in Bulgaria the festivals are closely to the tradition and culture of the country, and in Portugal the festivals are based more on music, as Portugal is well known for the summer festivals that attract thousands of younger tourists all years, however, there are also many festivals to celebrate the culture and traditions of Portugal, but not so much as in Bulgaria.

For, from what I have read, the Bulgarian people are very attached and proud of their traditions, unfortunately, like Portugal It is a small country with a high emigration rate, people are looking for a better quality of life in other countries and most of the time don’t have the opportunity to celebrate traditional festivals.

I found the similarities between folklore in Portugal and Bulgaria, as the colors of the clothes, and to be honest, I had no idea that in Bulgaria there was also the tradition of folklore, I was quite surprised.

I loved knowing more about Nestinarstvo, something that surprised me greatly and I was completely enchanted by this tradition.

I had zero expectations for Bulgaria. I’d never met a Bulgarian, I’d never met anyone who’d been to Bulgaria and I’d never read or seen anything about the place. I was going into Bulgaria completely blank, and that was actually nice for a change.

What’s so great about it?

• It’s cheap: It’s one of the cheapest countries , and since the country has abandoned its plan to adopt the euro it’s likely things will stay that way.
• Internet: The internet is lightning quick. Bulgaria has the 8^thfastest internet in the world, faster than the US.
• It’s safe: Like all places Bulgaria has its shady areas. Even around 2am I regularly saw girls walking home alone – usually a good sign that the streets are considered safe, the streets were generally calm and well lit.

Of course you should take your usual precautions and avoid the rough parts of town, but for the most part you can rest easy in Sofia.

• Eat: While not known for their food, Bulgaria makes some pretty delicious stuff.
• It’s developed: Bulgaria tends to have a reputation as rather poor and backward in this department, and it is not a rich country by any means, but I found it to be refreshingly modern, at least in Sofia.
• Тhe Party: The The drinks are cheap, and the bars are widespread. Whatever your flavour, just you’ll never be drinking alone in Bulgaria.
• It’s beautiful: Most importantly, Bulgaria is a beautiful country. After being part of several empires, there is so much history here and you will notice this instantly in the architecture and layout of the cities. There is a calm and laid-back energy in Bulgaria, one that makes it easy to visit and easy to like. The people are humble and polite, the streets are calm and it is easy to simply wander and enjoy the country for what it is.