Dear Macedonia, land of mountains Land of villages You have known wars, occupations Bitter Church struggles and cultural pillages. Motherland of my Father And his Fathers before him By inheritance you are my Grandmother And in spirit we are kin. Though my eyes have never seen you Or my feet walked throughout your land I make this promise Baba Makedonija One day on your soil I will stand. My Father emigrated at ...

Canada you are indeed a land and nation of immigrants Many people heard you call and they came. Macedonians left their beloved homeland Your hopes and opportunities to claim. You invited them; come Aegean, come Pirin, come Vardar Come you resilient and strong peoples. Leave Macedonia, as children will someday leave the home. Come have families, build homes, build businesses, build churches with their steeples. You ...

From our origin in the garden of Eden man has a close relationship with trees. In contemplation of our group of writers The Brothers Miladinov Macedonian Poetry Society it occurred to me that we are very much like a tree, a tree of Literature Like a tree we have four parts, roots, trunk, branches and leaves. Also as an expression of life we produce fruit ( our writings) As to our genus we are of the Macedonian Oak ...

I consider myself fortunate in having had a happy childhood. I lived and grew up in the Regent Park area of Cabbagetown in the City of Toronto. In the 1940`s this area was heavily populated with immigrant Macedonian families. They liked to live in close proximity to St. Georges Macedonian Church located on the corner of Regent Street and Sutton Avenue. My Father was an immigrant from the village of Oshchima in ...

Seeking freedom, patriots rose and fell in the Ilinden uprising Turks holocaust two hundred villages, rampant revenge stalked the land. Unlikely allies, Bulgars, Greeks and Serbs drive out the Ottomans The partitioning of Macedonia, was their Balkan war prize demand. A night of gloomy darkness falls over Europe's power struggles Ilinden, Balkan, World and Civil wars, repeatedly Macedonia is overrun. Sunrise ...

Ilinden was the day chosen for the uprising of the people When, the Fathers of modern Macedonia With their brave compatriots Rose to throw off the Turkish yoke. Formed in the fire of revolution, self awareness as a nation Ilinden the forge, Macedonia the anvil, Freedom the hammer Macedonia for Macedonians was their rallying cry Of their resolve for independence, their martyrdom spoke. For a few historic days, the ...

ODE; Literally, is a song, marked by exaltation of feeling, style, varying lengths of line and complexity of stanza form. Prologue I personify Macedonia as having a Body, Soul and Spirit Chorus The word Macedonia, when written is as a magnet to my eyes, drawing interest to the context in which it is written. The word Macedonia spoken is as music to my ears. It is as familiar as my own name. SONG OF THE BODY The body ...

Red Egg Day was the name given by the neighborhood boys for the observance of Easter Sunday by the local Macedonian Orthodox community. Our neighborhood was located in the Cabbagetown area of Toronto around Saint Georges Macedonian Church on Regent Street. I lived four doors east of the Church on Sutton Avenue. My Father was an immigrant from Macedonia and my Mother an Irish immigrant. I grew up enjoying both ...

Dear patriotic spirit and Mother of the people Many children emigrated from you with deep regrets To their new lands, languages and hope No matter distance; it`s Mother no child ever forgets. With song you nourish your peoples soul As when you sang at Ilinden That day the Narod rose up to say We are not Bulgars, Greek or Serb, we are Macedonian Mother Macedonia sweet singer of song Please sing us a song for today ...

Every time I pass Niagara Street in Toronto’s west end a story my Father told me comes to mind. My Grandfather Tanas Radeff with some fellow villagers from Ohschima had come to Canada from Macedonia in1898 looking for work. They had not come to stay but to sojourn for a few years then to return, hoping to buy a farm or build a bigger house with what money they saved. When my Grandfather returned to Macedonia at the ...