St. Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher

Bulgarian Holidays

Vassilyovden

1 January

On this day, Bulgarian people welcome the New Year and perform age-old customs:  Before the break of the day, 5-12 aged children armed with sourvachki - cornel-tree (dogwood tree) twigs decorated sparsely with popcorns, colorful threads and dried fruits, tour around from door to door and do sourvakane  - the custom of well wishing by tapping people on the back with the sourvachka,  and chanting a verse - a brief charm* for plenty in the coming months. In turn, the sourvakari receive food treats from the people.  Sometimes the domesticated animals and pets in the house are tapped too. This particular day is considered to be the best for predicting the future as well. The holiday menu is especially wide in range – jellied pig's trotters, roasted turkey or rooster, *banitsa or *pitka with cornel buds inside (lucky charms). People who have names as Vassil, Vassilka, Vesselin celebrate their name days.

*Charm (or a blessing):
Healthy, healthy year -
happy year.
golden wheat in the fields,
red apples in the gardens,
house full of silk.
Life, health for the next year
Till the next year, amen.

*Banitsa is  a traditional Bulgarian pastry prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of feta cheese between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.
*Pitka or Pita  is a round, brown, wheat flatbread made with yeast.

*Bаbа Маrtа

1 March

This is an old Bulgarian tradition dates back to the pagan time and remains almost unchanged today. Houses are cleaned thoroughly on the first day of March to prepare for  Baba Marta’s arrival. Fires are lit in the yards, and children take a turn jumping them to purify themselves and to gain good health and happiness throughout the upcoming year. Then their wrists were tied with martenitsa - a kind of folk talisman made of red and white thread woven into braids or pairs of tassels, balls and doll-like figures. Martenitas are meant to be worn from the moment of presentation until the wearer at last bears witness to some sign of incipient life returning to the natural world, such as a tree in blossom, or the first reappearance of migrating birds. When this happens, the martenitsa is then tied to a budding tree branch.  Another custom is to put the martenitsa under a stone with the idea that the kind of the creature closest to the martenitsa the next day will determine someone’s health for the rest of the year. If the creature is a beetle or a worm, the coming year will be successful for breeding the livestock. The same luck is associated with an ant, the difference being that the herd of sheep will be growing in number. Nowadays Bulgarians exchange and wear these martenitsas which symbolize the wish for good health, love and piece and the coming of spring. White as a color symbolizes purity and soul, red is a symbol of life and friendship. With the help of the beauty peoples struggle against the evil – What a genius way to overcome the hardship!

*Baba Marta (“Granny March”) is a personification of the transition from winter to spring in Bulgarian folklore, represented as a temperamental old woman, and the First of March is the day of her welcome and mercy. When the sun is shining, that is Baba Marta smiling on the people; when cold strikes the land again, she is showing her sorrow or displeasure.

The Liberation of Bulgaria

3 March

On this day, Bulgarians celebrate the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878 which resulted in the liberation of Bulgaria from the five-century oppression and servitude by the Osman Empire.

This is the National Holiday of Bulgaria as well.

Lazarovden, Lazaruvane (St Lazaurus’ s Day)

28 March

The Spring holidays such as St.Lazarus’s Day and Flower Day are among the most beautiful and poetic holidays, both dedicated to the flowers, love and bounty. They are a part of the Easter holiday festivities celebrating the rebirth of Nature and Life. These holidays are the female “match” to the predominantly male Christmas rituals. One of the most distinguished features of Bulgarian customs and rituals is the fusion of pagan and Christian elements: the rebirth, the revival of nature, the transformation of the dead into live is associated with the biblical story of the resurrection of Lazarus.  Festivities of St. Lazarus give us the reason to make a connection to the ancient cults of the Mother Goddess, i.e. the beginning of new life. That’s why this ritual is female; it is performed only by unmarried young girls called momi. The Mother Goddess provides health and fertility, prevents from drought and hail, and evil in general.  Girls who participated in *lazaruvane are not likely to be caught up by a *zmey.  The procession, the ritual visitation of homes and the songs of well wishing have the character of verbal magic for wishing good luck and bounty. In some regions of Bulgaria, a“bride” - a little girl dressed in wedding clothes and a “ groom ", a taller girl dressed in male clothes with a  hat, take part in the ritual. They perform a little scene of the resurrection of Lazarus, who according to the Bible had also a forthcoming marriage. There are usually several groups of girls called lazarki in one village. They get together early in order to rehearse the old songs and learn new ones. The first day of the rehearsal is on *Sveti Chetirdeset Machenici* (9 March) and the rehearsal runs until St. Lazarus’s day.

*Zmey  is a word  in Slavic mythology,  used to describe a  dragon.
* Lazaruvane: A procession on the Lazarus’s Day where a group of young girls, one of them  carries an egg basket, go around the village, enter in every house and sing songs to each family member. The only gifts that the girls get are white eggs.
* Sveti Chetirdeset Machenici = St. Forty Martyrs’ Day.

Easter

4 April

One of the greatest Christian Holidays is Easter ( Velikden or Vazkresenie in Bulgaria). The Holly Gospel tells us that Jesus came to earth to save people from their sins. He delivered sermons on good and love between people. He was condemned and crucified. On the third day after hid death he has risen.
Velikden in Bulgaria lasts three days. At midnight on Saturday before easter Sunday, people in Bulgaria gather at church. After the solemn service they return to their homes with a lighted candle in hands. The Easter meal must be nutritious because it is the ending of the Long Lent. The holiday feast consists of colored eggs and special bread. There is also a unique tradition to crack the colored eggs before lunch. People take turns in tapping their eggs against the eggs of others, and the person who ends up with the last unbroken egg is believed to have a year of good luck. He/she is considered as the most successful, healthy and happy person for the rest of the year. The Greetings among people during the Easter days are “Christos Voskrese" (Christ has risen) and the other replies "Vo istina voskrese" (Indeed he has risen).

The day of the Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival

1 November

The day of the Leaders of the Bulgarian National revival is a Holiday which is celebrated on the 1st of November. It is dedicated to those who contributed to the success of Bulgaria – its enlighteners and teachers who developed and preserved progressive ideas of cultural advance and heroes who sacrificed their lives for the liberty of Bulgaria such as Paisyi, Sofronyi, Levsky, Botev, Rakovsky, Vazov and many others. This is the Celebration of those who take a missionary role to care for the cultural and spiritual growth of Bulgarian people.

Christmas

25 December

In the Bulgarian folk calendar Christmas /Koleda/ is also known as Bozhik, Bozhich, Golyama Koleda.
The festive atmosphere of Christmas Eve would spread over Christmas night. The Koledari (young lads dressed in traditional Bulgarian costumes) would go about and extend blessings to their hosts. They used to sing ritual songs. One of them is:
Stani nine gospodine, gospodine - bolyarine. Zaspal li si - sabudi se! Piyan li si, otrezvi  se! Otvori ni chemshir-porti,chemshir-porti, stari vrati, che ti idem dobri gosti, dobri gosti - koledarei ti nossim dobri vesti.
Arise Ninn,  arise Sir. Arise Sir – Boyar. If you are asleep, wake up. If you are drunk, sober up! Open the gates – gates from boxwood. Open the old doors to enter the Koledars, good guests with good news.
On this day the families exchanged visits. While Christmas Eve meals consisted of predominantly vegetarian dishes, meat dishes were served on Christmas and the table was not cleared throughout the day. A ritual flat loaf of bread is baked.  *Banitsa, stuffed with meat or cheese is cooked; roasted liver, jerk, cabbage with blood pudding, pork with leeks, roasted hen, fried chopped pork.
Christmas is celebrated for  three days. On the first day, all those who bear the names of Christo and Christina celebrate their name day, and on the third one, which worships Saint Archdeacon Stefan /Stephen/, is celebrated by those who bear the saint's name.
According to the folk belief, the twelve days passing by from 25 December to 7 January, are named "dirty", "pagan", or *"karakondzhul". During this period various evil forces were believed to be raving about and nobody went out before first cock-crow. Women did not wash, did not weave or spin. People also called these days "unchristened", for from Jesus Christ's birth up to 7 January, when John the Baptist baptized him, he was not initiated yet. During the "dirty" days carnival processions were arranged in some Bulgarian locations by way of continuation of the  Christmas ritual.

*Banitsa is  a traditional Bulgarian pastry prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of feta cheese or meat between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.* * karakondzhul’s days– the period between Christmas Eve and Epiphany on 7 January.At this most dangerous time of the year, when Jesus was a newborn baby, demons walked around undisturbed. If you were not careful, you could meet a karakondzhul. Appearing as a horse, dog or ram with a human head, he took his victim to a "karakondzhul's wedding" in a secluded place at the dead of night. There is scant information about this event, because those "invited" there seldom came back to tell the tale.