Concerts, poems, songs and meetings marked National Revivalists' Day in schools and kindergartens across Nesebar municipality. Children and pupils from Sunny Beach, Nesebar, Sveti Vlas, Ravda and the village of Orizare took part.
On Sunday 1 November, historian Ivanka Deleva, chief curator of the history exhibition at the Regional Museum in Burgas, told Bulgarian National Radio that the revivalists rose from the people themselves in hard times.
Earlier on this story: Burgas museum historian: the "Awakeners" came from the people in hard times
Pupils in grades 8, 9 and 10 at the Ivan Vazov vocational school of tourism in Sunny Beach held a ceremony. They read poems and literary works by revivalists who awakened the national spirit with knowledge and the pen. The theme was that people who dared to educate others stood behind the great national change.
A history teacher organised the event. He says history is not only memory but also a duty to the future.
At the Sun kindergarten in the resort, children from the Sailor group marked the day. The message of the event was that the revivalist spirit starts in childhood, with the first word and the first fairy tale, with curiosity and love for all things Bulgarian.
In Nesebar, the municipality's biggest school, the Lyuben Karavelov secondary school, brought its pupils together in the Sochi conference hall for an event called "When Bulgaria Remembers". Other pupils went through the "Traces of the Revivalists" mission and played national educators. The programme included poems, a presentation and songs.
In Sveti Vlas, grades 1A and 5A of the Saints Cyril and Methodius primary school held a joint ceremony to honour the people who kept the Bulgarian spirit, language and patriotism alive. The fifth-graders told the first-graders what the revivalists did for education and freedom.
The two classes made a wishing tree together, filled with children's thoughts, dreams and messages. The first-graders cut out and coloured clocks showing the faces of the revivalists. For the older pupils they made a gift of handmade bookmarks. The third-graders had a quiz and a talk, and the other classes took part with recitals.
In Ravda, pupils at the local school looked at educational displays on the lives and work of great Bulgarians, and on the language, culture and history. The children put together the themed boards, drawings and craft pieces themselves, to thank these heroes.
Writer Ivelina Radionova met the younger pupils in Ravda, and then her fans.
In the village of Orizare, pupils at the Georgi Rakovski primary school gave a festive concert for the spiritual leaders, educators and writers. Headteacher Ms Stoeva presented awards to pupils who had represented the school at an art festival in Kusadasi, Turkey. They received certificates and applause.
The organisers say the events prove that the Bulgarian spirit cannot be broken, and that the youngest keep the memory of their ancestors with pride and a sense of duty.
The Ravda school will soon hold its traditional contest "Do You Know Bulgarian?", dedicated to the revivalists and educators. Pupils in grade 6 will take part.