Bulgaria Holidays
Holidays and traditions are conceived to unite and consolidate any nation. Celebrating holidays always means getting together as one family and one world in order to break from day-to-day routine for some moment. People like and impatiently wait for holidays to enter their homes, because they are often regarded as a kind of mystery or big event associated with special preparations for them.
Brought up in some traditional ideals and values the Bulgarians are committed to their national identity as a matter of their culture, language, religion, and customs.
Historically, the Bulgarian territories were divided into the Eastern Rumelia (Southern Bulgaria) with the capital in Plovdiv and the Bulgarian state, totally controlled by the Ottoman Empire. On the 6th of September 1885 there was mounted a military coup d’état resulted in the unification of Bulgaria. Since then it became a national holiday commemorating Unification Day of the country. There are neither sumptuous celebrations nor day off on this occasion in Bulgaria.
One of the most important holidays in the modern history of Bulgaria, worth being mentioned, is the Declaration of Independence, annually marked on the 22d of September. Until 1908, when the independence of Bulgaria was proclaimed by Prince Ferdinand in Veliko Tarnova, the Bulgarian Land was part and parcel of the Ottoman realm. Nowadays the celebrations are normally held in Veliko Tarnovo often called as the “City of the Tsars” and open with the reading out the Manifesto which declares Bulgaria’s independence.
On 24th December the Bulgarians celebrate a big holiday Christmas Eve (“Krachun” in Bulgarian). Traditionally they bring a log (budnik) and place it onto the fire, serve ritual breads, Christmas meals and sing Christmas carols-koleduvane. It is interesting to point out that Christmas holiday (Koleda, Rojdestwo, Bojich), on 25th December is always steeped in folk legends. One of them tells that if your have earache on Christmas this can indicate an angel has passed by you. Then, on the 1st of January this is the New Year’s Eve dinner that comes, and delicious meat dishes are served. The flaky pie (banica) with fortune slips is served while it is still warm. It is passed around three times and everyone takes the piece in front of him or her. To get married and enjoy a happy family life young Bulgarian girls do not eat their piece but put it later under a pillow hoping that whomever they see in their dreams during the night, they will marry.
In spring the Bulgarians celebrate Easter Holidays during 4 days – Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Monday. Everybody crashes the painted eggs, one against the other, and eats Easter breads.
Bulgaria is the cradle of the Slavic civilization and alphabet which is nowadays used by many Slavic nations. One of the brightest holidays respected by the Bulgarians is Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavic Script Day, celebrated on the 24th of May.
Welcome to Bulgaria! Enjoy the Bulgarian ways to celebrate holidays!
