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There are a lot of rituals and celebrations, concerning St. George's day (Gergiovden). It is celebrated on the 6th of May, although some calendar changes brought by the Orthodox Church (all dates for celebration of the saints have been changed some time ago). Saint George the Victorious ("Pobedonosez") was canonized by the Church because of what he has done. He is usually painted on an icon as riding a white horse, holding a lance in his hand, stabbed in the throat of a beast - the dragon ("lamia"). According to the legend, a dragon used to attack the shepherds and their sheep and each time the dragon used to steal a sheep or a lamb. The shepherds were desperate. Then St. George appeared and killed the dragon. Since that day, the shepherds celebrate St. George every year and make a "kurban" - slaughter of a lamb (sacrifice for St. George). In every house of a village, a lamb is slaughtered. Before that some flowers are put on the lamb's horns and even a prayer is read. All village gates (doors) are covered with flowers. Early in the morning, people go to the river to wash themselves. On this days, people has to check their weight ("pretegliam se") - it has been the "only " day of the year when people checked their weight. There has also been a tradition that people goto a swing ("lyulka") on that day. St. George's day (Gergiovden) has been pronounced (some years after the liberation of Bulgaria) as the day of the Army - the Bravery day. The main Army parade used to take place on this day. Recently, this festivity has been restored.

Some weeks ago we had a meeting with other schools about healthy eating. An expert told us about the food pyramid, food nutrients, typical recipes of Verona and Veneto, fruits and vegetables produced in our region.

They gave us this beautiful bookmark.

Thursday April 2 we had a collective class lunch. This lunch was sponsored by the Albert Hein. First we watched a movie named the Eatwell plate. It was about healthy food. The plate was divided into five parts: dairy products, vegetables and fruit, meat and fish, drinks, bread and cereals. So this is to be called the Eatwell plate. It existed out of healthy food. There was for example, lettuce, cucumber, cheese, yoghourt drink and crackers. Magda de Bruin's father went to the Albert Hein in Zevenhuizen and picked up the food for us. We would like to thank him for this!!!!!!!!!! Everyone enjoyed the meal. We found it to be very fun and very good.

Nick en Mart group 8

The children at Dimitrie Sturdza have made their own "EAT" magazine, with photos, poems, facts and figures. But why not take a look at it yourselves?

Enjoy!

The children from D.A.Sturdza, Iasi, Romania met the children at EuroEd. The idea of the meeting came after a discussion between the teachers Lucia Petrescu and Alina Grigoras, the English teachers from the 2 schools. The purpose of the meeting was for the children to socialize and share activities they have developed within the project EAT. Another reason was to show the partners from the other countries specific food and activities that Romanians do at Easter. Therefore, children from EuroEd presented the children from Sturdza school a PPT about brands, logos about food and posters, they sang together the specific Easter song, they broke eggs(a specific Easter tradition ). Children from Sturdza brought some pages from their little magazine they thought (which has funny, short poems about food, recipies), they chose their favourite poems and shared opinions about them, they talked about favourite food and when they eat it.

The photos we have made for you and the movie will be coming soon!

Hello again,

Here are some photos and a few words about the school days cellebration we had in November. We usually try to do our best in celebrating the school days, which actually means that we want to show that we are proud of our school. Some schools also organize fairs and activities with the parents.

This year ...

We have dressed up in our national costume and...

You can see characters from the famous Romanian book Childhood Memories written by one of our best story tellers. The book is meant to show the deeds of any Romanian child in the old days when people were still wearing the costumes in days of celebration. Some of our colleagues have played scenes from the book.

We also have some skills in dancing :)

And young children of our school of 9-10 years old reconstructed history: dinos of all kinds in action.

Do you organize "School days"? What do you do at this event? We are looking forward to hearing news from you.

Yours, The "Dimitrie Sturdza" team

Our school has a new name: Papilion. It is French and means butterfly. Here are some pictures of the work the children made to celebrate our new name.

hello'

What is your favourite animal? How old are you? What time do you finish school? What time do you start school?

class 8

Hello, we all photographed our lunch, which we bring from home. Here are the 12.00h meals of Lucas and Soufian: sandwiches with ... (can you guess?) and a drink.

Here are some food diaries of the pupils in Eminescu school. They decided to make them for all the days o the week.

Since 2006 we have been working with a big Dutch Supermarket http://www.klasselunch.nl/2007/ on a healthy eating project with our 12 year olds - he supermarket delivers the food in the school; the main idea is that healthy eating is also eating together!

Here are some pictures:

Here are some pictures of pupils recording words in Dutch which you can hear under some of the categories

GNOCHI SBATUI

The most typical recipe of Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo.

Equipment: A wooden spoon A wooden plate A big wooden bowl A table spoon A pot A saucepan A colander

Ingredients: Flour Hot water Salt Butter Grated cheese

Process: 1.Mix with a wooden spoon flour, hot water and salt; 2.Divide the dough in little pieces with a wooden spoon and dip them in a pot with hot and salted water; 3.When the "gnochi" surface, drain them; 4.Melt the butter in a saucepan until it's brown; 5.Put the "gnochi" in a plate and add the butter and some grated cheese;

Enjoy your meal!!

BREAD BROTH

An old and poor recipe of Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo.

Equipment: a pot a wooden spoon

Ingredients: water salt pepper butter an egg

Process: 1.Boil water, salt, pepper and butter;

2.Turn the gas off and add the egg;

3.Mix for some minutes;

4.Pour the broth in a plate and add some pieces of bread;

Dear Lucia

We have produced a Christmas alphabet but did not have time to send it before Christmas but have posted it off today - we have also produced some word searches.

Here are some samples of the alphabet

We would love to hear more about your Christmas.

February: Trifon's Day (Trifon Zarezan, Trifon the Drunkard) - 1st of February Trifon' Day is a holiday in honour of St.Trifon who is patron of the winegrowers, tavern-keepers and gardeners. Early in the morning of the first of February the mistress of the house kneads and bakes a loaf of bread , which is decorated with wine leaves. She also prepares a hen cooked with rice or groats. Then she put the bread, the hen, a wine vessel and a bottle of holy water in a brand new woolen bag. The master of the house takes the bag and togather with the other men of the village they go to the vineyards. Every man visits his own vineyard and the first thing he does there is to make the sign of the cross facing the sun. Then he cuts three roots from three different vines and then he pours out some wine over the cut spots and makes the blessing: "As many drops of wine, that many grapes in the vine". This ritual is called "zarejazvane" (cutting). After that every winegrower sprinkles his vineyard with holy water which is done for rich harvest and prevention of hailstorms. After the cutting of the vines the men gather around one table set in the vineyards. In some region of the country before sitting by the table the men choose "a king" first and he is the one to lead the feast. "A king" may become every man, but it is usually the richest or "the luckiest" one that is chosen and thus the harvest will be very rich too. The chosen king raises the wine vessel, cuts some vine and pronounces the blessing: "on every vine a quarter of a bushel, from every quarter a full tub of wine". After the feast the whole group goes to the village lead by who the others carry on their shoulders. The men visit every house in the village. The master of the house serves them wine in a white pot presenting it first to the "king" and then to the others. The wine which remains in the pot is then poured on the king with the words: "For the rich harvest and for wine overflowing the thresholds". After the men have paid a visit in every house of the village they go to the "king's" place and he is obliged to serve wine to then all. The holiday is also known as "Trifon the Drunkard", because the "king" must inevitably get drunk so that there will be a rich harvest in the vineyards. . With Trifon's Day the Wolves' holidays begin. Church Holiday: Saint Trifon - a saint-healer, who cured the daughter of the Roman Emperor Gordian and thus became a celebrity. He was sentenced to death by Dekius Trajan and died like a martyr. Ritual Table: unleavened bread, hen with rice or groats, baked flat sausages, omelette, cheese-cake.

In Bulgaria, banitsa is a symbol of Bulgarian cuisine and traditions. The word "banitsa" is used as a simile for something (mainly documents and paperwork) crumpled, or badly maintained. For example, a police officer can accuse someone of having his or her passport "become like a banitsa" (станал е на баница); a teacher might say this about a pupil's notebook. The same can be said for a very badly crushed car after an accident. Another expression, popular in the 1980s, is "And maybe you'd like some banitsa with yoghurt hand delivered to your bed tomorrow for breakfast too?" (а банички с кисело мляко сутрин рано за закуска в леглото не искаш ли?), meaning "You want too much." The word "tikvenik" is a metaphor for someone very stupid, e.g. "you are a big tikvenik" (голям си тиквеник), meaning "you are a pumpkin -head."

Banitsa is present on every special occasion. Nowadays, there is a holiday banitsa at Christmas or New Year that contains lucky charms ("kasmeti") such as coins and small symbolic objects (a piece of dogwood branch is a symbol of good health), or pieces of paper with written wishes on them wrapped in foil and baked inside the pastry. Banitsa has many variations, while the basic, traditional dish is made of phyllo dough, crumbled feta cheese, yoghurt, and eggs. You can make banitsa easily: Ingredients: 1 package of phyllo dough ("finikori") - This can be found in the frozen-food section in supermarket. 1 or 2 pounds of crumbled feta cheese ("sirene") - Add upon your taste. 6 to 8 eggs 1 cup of plain yoghurt 1 stick of butter, grated 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil (Bulgarians believe that oily banitsa is good banitsa) A flavoring ingredient for the filling* First, place down a layer of one or two sheets of phyllo dough, each sprinkled with the olive oil. Whisk the eggs, add the crumbled feta cheese, grated butter, the yoghurt, and your ingredient choice for the filling. Spread the mixture onto the phyllo sheet(s). Continue layering up with the phyllo sheets and the filling mixture. After adding the last of the mixture, top with one more phyllo sheet. Brush the sheet with olive oil. Bake at 350 F until golden.

1. Some varieties include banitsa with spinach (spanachena banitsa) or the sweet version, banitsa with milk (mlechna banitsa) or pumpkin (tikvenik).

Christmas Eve in Bulgaria is celebrated with traditional foods after the Advent fast. Walnuts are a necessary component to the Bulgarian Christmas meal. Each member of the family cracks one in order to determine their fate for the next year. If the walnut is a good one, it is said that the year will be successful. Bad luck is predicted for the person who cracks a bad walnut.

Another Bulgarian Christmas Eve dinner tradition involves hiding a coin in the loaf of Christmas bread. The person who finds the coin can also expect good luck in the year to follow.

You can prepare PATATNIK as a main course on Ignazhden. In the cold winter months potatoes represent one of the main foods of the Bulgarian diet. It is interesting to know that, as mentioned by author Sava Dobroplodni in "A Concise Manual on Health or Lessons on how to Protect our Health", published in 1865 - potatoes had been used even to make bread. Naturally, it was not equal to wheaten bread in taste, but, still, it was very nourishing and people from many regions in Bulgaria gave it preference.

PATATNIK Ingredients * 6 spoonfuls of flour * 1/2 coffee-cupful of vegetable oil * 1 spoonful of melted butter For the filling:
* 1 1/2 kg of potatoes * 4 onions * 3 eggs * 1 spoonful of fresh mint (or if fresh mint is not available - a pinch of dried mint) * 1/2 spoonful of vegetable oil * 1/2 teaspoonful of salt Directions: Having supplied yourself with the required products, you are ready to begin cooking the patatnik. Make a soft paste of the flour, the vegetable oil and as much water as necessary. Leave it for a quarter of an hour at room temperature, then divide it in two, one of the two parts a bit larger. Spread the smaller mass to form a sheet 4-5 cm larger than the bottom of the baking dish. Make a filling of the grated potatoes (potatoes are peeled beforehand) and the grated onions, the beaten eggs, the mint and the salt. Place the bigger sheet in a buttered (melted butter) dish, add the filling and cover with the smaller sheet. Turn the ends of the first sheet inside and pinch the two sheets together to prevent the filling from coming out when baked. Bake the patatnik at a moderate temperature till it turns rosy.

The popular belief holds this day as the beginning of the new year. And since it is the start of a new year, it is very important what man or woman first steps in the house - good or bad. On this personality depends the whole year ahead. The individual who enters the house first is known as "poleznik". He is given an Ignatian ring-shaped bun and he sits at the head of the table. Early in the morning of Saint Ignatius' Day the women make fire, put a pot of pulse on it and knead dough to make kolaks /ring-shaped cakes/, one for each family member and one which is kept for Christmas Eve. Little sesame rings are also made ("horse-shoes").

That is one of the biggest family holidays celebrated in the winter. The holiday honors St. Nicola - patron of the seas, sailors and fishermen. Bankers and salesmen also honor him as their protector. Fish meals are necessarily prepared for the celebration of this day. While scaling the fish women should be careful not to let its scales fall on the floor because it is believed that if someone steps on them this someone may get ill or die. The bones should be burnt, buried in the ground or thrown in the river. They sew the parietal bone in the hats of the children to protect them from sickness and the evil eye. The prepared meals are usually from carp fish, because it is believed that it is "the servant of St. Nicola". According to the legend once when St. Nicola went out in the sea with his boat a storm came up and punctured his boat. St. Nicola caught a carp fish and plugged up the crack. That is how he and his companions were saved.

There are different kinds of bread prepared in honor of the saints: bogovitsa, svetets (saint), kravaj (ring-shaped bun), paraklis (chapel) and nikul bread. Roasted carp fish and ribnik (fish meal) are served as an offering (kurban). The whole carp fish stuffed with rice and grits, with walnuts and raisins is roasted and after censing it is broken up and served. The ribnik is also made of carp fish which is folded into dough and then baked after it is flatten down and oiled. Different patterns can be made on top of it, dough balls and sticks representing the spine, the tail and the eyes of the carp fish can also be stuck on it. They leave the table with all the dishes on it all day long. It is available for the guests at any time. Except for the fish and the bread there is also beans stew, stuffed cabbage or vine leaves and other meatless meals, soaked in olive oil or walnuts or sesame oil. Church Holiday: the memory of St. Nicola Mirlikliiski Chudotvirets, also called Nicolaj Ugodnik. He was proclaimed the bishop of town Mir during the time of Emperor Constantine the Great. He dies in 342. As a spiritual father of Mir he bestowed strength and life to the ill and low-spirited. He is renowned for his miracles in saving the sailors and the ships from the sea storm. That is the reason why this day is considered the end of the autumn and winter fishing period. The caught fish is offered as a sacrifice to the saint. At this day all the ships in the open sea stop their voyage to honor the patriot saint. Ritual Table: ritual breads, fish and meatless meals.

We cooked both of the above and have created a PowerPoint which Pam will bring to Verona but below are the 2 recipes we used with some pictures

Name day for: Ivan, Vanyo, Vanya, Joanna, Joan, Ivaylo, Ivayla, Ivo, Yvonne, Kaloyan, Jan, Jana, Yana. Ceremonial table: boiled wheat, beans, dried plums, cheese pastry, black pudding, baked flat sausages, pork ribs with cabbage. On January 7 - Ivan's Day, the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of St. Joan the Baptist who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Joan recognized and pointed Jesus as the messenger of God. Joan was also called the Prophet because he prophesized the coming of Christ on earth. Ivan's Day as a popular holiday is part of the rich from ritual point of view Christmas - New Year's festive cycle. The ritual bathing for health on Jordan's Day continues on Ivan's Day. In some regions of the country it is even more characteristic of this holiday. The ritual is for the young grooms mostly who are bathed by their best men or brothers-in-law. That's the reason why the bathing can be accepted as an element of the after marriage ceremonies, which closes the wide cycle of the marital rituality. On this day the young single men bath the spinsters, the boys and those who have a name day bathe too. The young just married women and the girls under 1 year of age are also bathed in southern Bulgaria. The ritual bathing includes the exchange of presents, as well as the visiting of relatives and the preparation of a ceremonial table. The people's idea of St. Joan as a protector of the sponsorship and the brotherhood determines the visits paid to the best men. The best men bring ring shaped buns, meat and wine. They lay a common festive table. Ivan's Day is the day when the New Year's disguised parties stop visiting the neighboring houses. In some regions of Bulgaria the Koledari solemnly lead the person celebrating his or her name day to the town's fountain and bath them. Then that person organizes a feast and invites men who dress up like bears and brides. Finally all go out and join the festive folklore dance, which marks the end of the full cycle of the Christmas custom of Koleduvane.

Famous Shopska Salad Shopska salad is Bulgaria's most famous salad. It's named for the Shoppi, or natives of Sofia. It's perfect in the summertime in Bulgaria, when the tomatoes are the freshest, but it's wonderful year-round. Here's a recipe... What you need: • 4 tomatoes • 2 cucumbers • 2 roasted peppers or fresh green peppers • 2 spoonfuls chopped parsley • 2 spoonfuls chopped onion or green onion (optional) • half a pound of white cheese (feta) • salt, vinegar, oil to taste How to make it: Cut the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in small pieces, cubes if possible. Mix well with the parsley, onion, salt, vinegar and oil. Serve with white cheese grated on top. Enjoy!

How to prepare tarator Tarator (Cyrillic: Таратор, also called Таратур in Macedonian) is a cold soup (or a liquid salad), popular in the summertime in Bulgaria and Macedonia . It is made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, nuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water. It can be served on the rocks. Local variations replace yoghurt with water and vinegar, omit nuts or add bread. The cucumbers may on very rare occasions be replaced by lettuce or carrots. Tarator is eaten with a spoon, either as a soup before the main dish, or as a salad with the main meal. The Turkish variation of tarator is similar, but has a rich consistency and is served as a meze. On the south coast of Turkey, it is served with fried squid and includes yoghurt, lemon, walnut, olive oil, bread and garlic.

Here are some pictures of some of the word done at Twydall Junior School - they are linked with a school in Holland and their Year 6 pupils visit Holland each year.

Here are some pictures from their linked school

Here are some pictures of the food diaries from the Italian school

All the pupils in the UK are linked with others of the same age - 7 to 8 years old. The linked access is secure so that we are protecting the pupils and the registration will help us sustain the project once the funding comes to an end.

Easter is going in Bulgaria soon. We love this holiday, because we make coloured eggs. Our parents or grandmother wake up us with a red egg in the Easter day. They paint our foreheads with the red egg. It means that we will be healthy. Then we exchange coloured eggs each other. Today we celebrated Easter in our school and we showed our school-mates how to make "kozunak". It is kind of bread which is made: eggs, flour, sugar. It is very tasty, for example you can eat it drinking milk for breakfast. It is really healthy breakfast :-). EASTER GREETINGS TO YOU!

Easter in Bulgaria -(in Bulgarian it is called ‘Velikden’) is in fact based on the main Christian dogma – the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter in Bulgaria is being celebrated three days in a row. Great/Good Friday (Razpeti Petuk) is a time for spiritual purifying and is a day in which no one works in Bulgaria. From this day till the noon of the Saturday of Passion (Strastnata Subota) nothing is to be eaten.

On Saturday women had cooked special bulgarian ritual bread. This ritual bread is of different types. Some are round, elipse-shaped or of separated pieces in a plait. They are called yaychelnik, kukulnik, paska, velikdenski kravai.

Dear all, today we celebrated Palm Sunday in our school. It was funny and nice. There were our parents. We dressed Bulgarian traditional costumes. Do you know anything about this kind of holiday? Pupils 2-nd grade /9 years old /. We send our Palm Sunday greetings to you with a lot of flowers.

On the Sunday before Easter Tsvetnitsa (Palm Sunday) you are allowed to eat fish. This day is traditionally celebrated with young girls weaving crowns from willow branches, which they throw into a stream, where further down boys are waiting. Churches in Sofia open doors early in the morning on Palm Sunday and willow branches are distributed. The symbolism of Palm Sunday can easily be linked not just to the resurrection of Jesus, but to that of all of nature. In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is often referred to as Vrubnitsa, as a symbol of nature's resurrection. Vrubnitsa marks the start of Holy Week, which precedes the great festival of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, and which consequently is used to commemorate Jesus's Passion, and the events, which immediately led up to it.

We send our Palm Sunday greetings to you with a lot of flowers.

Svetla Dragieva - English teacher

On friday the 28th we baked pancakes for elderly people. It was great fun. We decorated the elderly home in an italian commedia dell arte restaurant. We can win a schooltrip with this project. So.....

We have been working on the food diary on Monday the 17th of march with the children from year 7 (age: 10-11). They were very exited. We filled in the diary and made a fotograph of their food for the break ( 10.30 ) and the lunch ( 12.00 ). It was great fun and they were very enthusiastic. We are in this year with 11 children. Kunie.