“The Bearded” is a limited edition book, developed as a collaboration project between Blood Becomes Water and Imaginary Archive by Tihomir Stoyanov. Through an extensive collection of photographs, the book explores the image of Dyado Mraz from the 1950s to his gradual disappearance after 1989.

Dyado Mraz (Grandfather Frost) and Santa Claus are two almost identical figures from the far North, but whose cultural journeys in Bulgaria are extremely different. The book captures Dyado Mraz’ school visits and the “exciting” moment of handing out gifts to children during the communist rule in Bulgaria. A brief accompanying text suggests the figure’s centuries-old roots, tracing the “good old man” from ancient mythology, Elin Pelin’s writings and Christian charity up until the moment the regime seized the country, leading to the outright banning of Christmas and the compulsory imposition of Dyado Mraz as the sole, ideologically “correct” figure.