Bulgaria to take part in Martenitsa festival in Brussels

For the fourth consecutive year, Bulgaria will take part in the Martenitsa Festival 2026, a spring initiative showcasing Balkan traditions in Brussels, correspondent Daniela Goleminova reported.

This year’s festival will be held on 22 February in the Marble Hall at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 50, from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

Romania is hosting this year’s edition, with Moldova, Bulgaria and North Macedonia also taking part under the festival’s rotating format. The Bulgarian Cultural Association in Belgium is organising the event with the support of the Bulgarian Embassy in Belgium and the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.

On 1 March, Bulgarians traditionally exchange martenitsas — red and white thread ornaments symbolising health and the arrival of spring.

The tradition has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a shared element of the cultural heritage of Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and North Macedonia.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova