01 January – New Year

 

Bulgarians celebrate the New Year in the same way as people all over the world, with family, friends and fireworks. Amonst other things they will eat banitsa which has a little good fortune message on a cocktail stick. At midnight they'll often put the radio/TV on to get the exact timing right, and often there will be great patriotism in singing the National Anthem.

A less often seen but more traditional ritual takes place on New Year's Day when groups of young boys would go from house to house carrying decorated 'survachka' sticks, made from cornel branches. At each house they lightly tap people on the back with the sticks whilst saying a blessing:

Сурва, сурва година,
весела година,
зелен клас на нива,
червена ябълка в градина,
пълна къща с коприна,
живо-здраво догодина,
догодина, до амина.

(Roughly translates as

Surva, surva year,

merry year,

green crops in the field,

red apple in the garden,

house full of silk,

alive and healthy till next year,

till next year, till Amen)

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06 January - Epiphany

 

Yordanovden is one of the major Christian holidays in Bulgaria.  According to the Bible, on that day, John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Nowadays, Epiphany day in Bulgaria is celebrated with festive liturgy in the churches and rituals involving water. 

After the festive liturgy the priests, accompanied by hundreds of people start a festive procession from all churches. They go to the nearest river and the priest throws a cross into the water. It is believed that the one who succeeds in taking the cross from the water will be happy and rich all year round. So a lot of enthusiastic men jump into the ice cold waters of the river and try to catch the cross. The most famous place where this happens is Kalofer, but you can also see the event in Dryanovo down at the Kolyo Ficheto bridge.
 

14 February - Trifon Zarezan

On the 14th of February Bulgarians celebrate the day of St. Trifon Zarezan. The roots of this holiday are related to the Thracian god of the wine, Dionysius. People go up to their vineyards with some of last year's wine. A man prunes the vines and a woman pours some of the wine onto the cut stems. The cut pieces are then woven to make crowns to wear, followed by boozing, feasting, singing and dancing.

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01 March - Baba Marta

 

The 1st of March is known as the day of Baba Marta and on this day everyone gives each other martenitsi. These small red and white talismans are symbols of health and fertility. 

The roots of the holiday date back to the pagan times. The red colour is a symbol of the feminine beginning, health, conception and birth, and the white on the other hand is the male beginning, strength and light. With this union of male and female, Bulgarian folklore signals the beginning of the spring season and the new beginning. In fact a common configuration of the martenitsa is as two characters, Pizho and Penda; the male doll, Pizho, is usually distinguished by its white dominating color, while Penda, the female doll, is usually mostly red. Martenitsas are worn until you see a stork, blossom on a tree, or till the end of March.

In old folklore, “Baba Marta” (Grandmother March) was portrayed as a somewhat bipolar and moody woman. When she was happy, skies were blue and the sun shone; if she was angry, winter would last a little bit longer. Some say that Baba Marta only visits clean homes, so Bulgarians have their own version of spring cleaning due to the Baba Marta celebration.

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03 March - Liberation Day

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This is the day when Bulgarians celebrate their liberation from the Turkish slavery.  After five centuries of occupation, the Russian troops, supported by Romanian and Finnish armies and a Bulgarian volunteer force, won the freedom of their country. This was the Russian-Turkish Liberation War which lasted a year and was over on the 3th of March 1878 with the Treaty of San Stefano.

3rd of March is an official non working day. The holiday is marked by impressive war parades and festival program at the Shipka peak (the site of  battles  of the Bulgarian volunteers and Russian army, against the Turkish troops.

 

08 March - International Women's Day

 

International Women's Day  is marked on the 8th of March every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. Started as a political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries primarily Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe. In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love to the women around them in a way somewhat similar to Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day mixed together. In others, however, the political and human rights theme as designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

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25 March - Blagoveshtenie (Feast of the Annunciation)

 

Blagoveshtenie is a major Christian Church holiday, celebrating the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, telling her she had been chosen to bear God's son.  Blagoveshtenie (meaning "Sweet News").
This day is associated with the arrival of the migratory birds and with the final springtime awakening of Nature. Houses and yards are swept and all the sweepings made into a small bonfire. Everyone leaps over the bonfire for luck whilst others bang loudly on saucepans and shout to frighten away snakes which may have been loitering through the cold winter months. It's also a popular day to get your ears pierced as legend has it, it won't hurt on this day and there won't be any risk of infection.

 

St Lazarus Day

 

Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Christians mark Saturday St. Lazarus Day, a holiday intimately connected with Easter celebrated on the day before Palm Sunday. It marks the Resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany performed by Jesus Christ and symbolizing the resurrection of Christ himself and the salvation of mankind. The miracle, done by Jesus four days after Lazarus's death, turned many into believers, but also hastened the pharisees' decision to have Jesus arrested and killed. Thus for Eastern Orthodox Christians Lazarus Saturday also marks the imminent Holy Week before Easter, which they call the Passion Week. The Great Lent Fast is strictest following St. Lazarus Day, and believers are invited to purify themselves and reflect on their faith and their ties to their loved ones and neighbors.

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According to Bulgarian folk beliefs, Lazarus Saturday, also called Lazaritsa, is a day on which young girls are initated to become future wives. In the traditions of old, groups of young women dressed in festive clothes walked the town, singing songs bidding health, prosperity and fertility to households. The girls, also known as Lazarki, meaning Lazarus's girls, also bless fields, forests and rivers.

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Some years this is a big event in Dryanovo culminating in everyone dancing a huge horo dance in the big square up by the history museum.

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Palm Sunday - Tsvetnitsa

 

Palm Sunday (Tsvetnitsa) is a Christian moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. On the Sunday after Lazaritsa, the maids that had danced as lazarki would gather and go to the river. They would pick blossoming willow twigs and twine them into wreaths. That's how the present-day tradition of buying willow twigs and have them blessed at the church was born. It is still a common practice to fix willow twigs on the front door to ensure the good health and vigour of the family. On Tsvetnitsa people go to church carrying flowers and this particular custom has given the name of the festival.

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Easter

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Easter traditions in Bulgaria are a derivative of the Eastern Orthodox Church rituals. As the Bulgarian name implies "Velikden" (Great Day), Easter in one of the most significant holidays in the Bulgarian calendar and starting with Palm Sunday, the holy week leads up to the Great Day. In tune with worldwide Orthodox traditions, bright red colored eggs and Easter breads known as "kolache" or "kozunak" are the prominent symbols of Easter in Bulgaria. 

At midnight on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, people gather at the church with red painted eggs and bread. The priest proclaims three times "Christos voskrese" (Christ has risen) and the congregation replies "Vo istina voskrese" (Indeed he has risen). One of the Easter breads is specially decorated with one or more (but an odd number) of red eggs. After a special sequence of services, the clergy blesses the breads and eggs brought by the people.

The Bulgarian good luck crack is a unique Easter tradition in Bulgaria. Eggs are cracked after the midnight service and over the next few days. The egg that is cracked on the wall of the church is the first egg people eat after the long fast of Lent. 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. 

 

01 May - International Workers' Day

Bulgarians celebrate  International Labour Day marking the struggle for dignified work and the feeling of solidarity amongst labourers.

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06 May - St. George's Day

 

Possibly the most celebrated name day in the country, St George's Day (Gergyovden) is a public holiday that takes place on 6 May each year. A common ritual is to prepare and eat a whole lamb, which is an ancient practice possibly related to Slavic pagan sacrificial traditions and the fact that St. George is the patron saint of shepherds. 

St. George's Day is also the Day of the Bulgarian Army, made official with a decree of Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria on 9 January 1880. Parades are organized in the capital Sofia to present the best of the army's equipment and manpower.

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24 May - Bulgarian Education and Culture

 

Bulgaria celebrates May 24th as the day of the Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavic alphabet.  In the 9th century the Holy Brothers Sts. Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet and made the first translations in it. The Cyrillic alphabet has been in existence for more than eleven centuries, but it was introduced for the first time to the European Union after Bulgaria obtained full membership. The Bulgarian language brought the total number of "linguae europeae" to 23. There are now three alphabets used in the EU - Latin, Greek and Cyrillic.  The first celebration in commemoration of Sts Cyril and Methodius occurred 156 years ago in a Plovdiv school, currently after the name of the Saints.
Bulgaria celebrates May 24 as an official holiday.

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06 September - Unification Day

 

Unification Day on 6 September is a national holiday in Bulgaria. It commemorates the unification of Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria in 1885.  It was coordinated of the Bulgarian Secret Revolutionary Committee (BSRC). The unification became a fact after several rebellions in different towns in Eastern Roumelia followed by military take-over patronized by prince Alexander I. After the unification, Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia had joint government, parliament, administration and army. It provoked Russia’s disapproval and with its support several days later on 2nd November 1885 Serbia assaulted Bulgaria. After 3 days of combats near Slivnitsa, on 7th November the Bulgarian army won the battles. On 19th February 1886 in Bucharest the treaty was signed which restored the pre-war borderlines with Serbia. By this treaty the unification received  international recognition.

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22 September - Independence Day

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The independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire was proclaimed on 22 September 1908 in the old Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo by Prince (afterwards Tsar) Ferdinand of Bulgaria. Bulgaria has been Europe's tenth oldest country by continuous sovereignty since that date.

Bulgaria had been a widely autonomous principality since 3 March 1878, when it was liberated from Ottoman rule in the wake of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878. On 6 September 1885, it had unified with the Bulgarian-majority Ottoman autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia. After the Liberation, Bulgaria's main external goal was the unification of all Bulgarian inhabited areas under foreign rule into a single Bulgarian state: the main targets were Macedonia and southern Thrace, which continued to be part of the Ottoman realm. In order to join an anti-Ottoman alliance and claim those territories by war, however, Bulgaria had to proclaim its independence first. 

The chaos that ensued in the Ottoman Empire following the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 provided suitable conditions for the Bulgarian proclamation of independence. Many of the Great Powers had also abandoned their support for the Ottomans, looking for territorial gains instead: Austria-Hungary was hoping to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Kingdom was looking to seize the empire's Arab territories in the east, and the Russian Empire's main target was control over the Turkish Straits. In September 1908 at a meeting in Buchlau (modern Buchlov, Czech Republic), envoys of Austria-Hungary and Russia supported each other's plans and agreed not to hinder Bulgaria's proclamation of independence which was likely to take place.

Towards the middle of September, the democratic government of Aleksandar Malinov had decided that the suitable moment was near. On 21 September, Ferdinand arrived at Ruse from a break in his Hungarian mansion. He was awaited there by the government to discuss the final decision on board the Krum ship. The delegation then took the train to Tarnovo, where the official proclamation would take place. According to recent research, it was at the Dve Mogili railway station that the manifesto of independence was completed on 22 September.

The independence of Bulgaria was formally proclaimed at the SS. Forty Martyrs Church in Tarnovo. As a result, Bulgaria's status was promoted to that of a kingdom, increasing its international prestige. Ferdinand would adopt the title of Tsar and the country would be ready to join the Balkan League and fight the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War of 1912–1913.

Bulgaria's declaration of independence was followed by Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia the following day and Greece's union with the Cretan State (unrecognized until 1913). With the two countries' joint violation of the Treaty of Berlin and the dominant support among European countries, the independence of Bulgaria was internationally recognized by the spring of 1909. The Ottoman Empire did not demand any financial compensation from Bulgaria because Russia cancelled the Ottomans' outstanding reparations for the war of 1877–1878. Bulgaria, however, did have to pay 82 million francs to Russia as a consequence.

 

01 November - National Enlighteners' Day

 

Bulgaria's National Awakening Day is celebrated annually on 1 November in remembrance of the Bulgarian visionaries and scholars that helped change the nation's history. The holiday became official in 1922 but like many other national holidays, it was suspended when Bulgaria was under Soviet rule. The holiday was reestablished after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1995. The day is traditionally used to give awards to teachers, actors and artists from all walks of life as a way to remember those in the past that provided such monumental contributions to Bulgaria.

 

06 December - Nikulden

 

Nikulden is "The Day of Saint Nicholas" - a great winter festival celebrated by all Bulgarians on December 6th. Saint Nicholas is believed to help all the sailors and fishermen. He was born during the third century in Patara. He is the master of the entire submarine realm - fish and water demons - as well as the sea winds. The autumn fishing season ends on this day. The day's catch is to be offered to the saint. Fishermen eat the first fish caught right on the shore, before bringing the rest home.

According to the folk-Christian myths, it is Saint Nicholas who makes the winds rage and cease. Saint Nicholas can walk on the seas and whenever there is a ship in trouble, he would save it. Saint Nicholas is the protector of sailors and fishermen, the patron not only of those who bear his name, he is also a personal or family protector.

The traditional Nikulden meal in each household is based upon a fish dish. “Ribnik” - a carp in dough - is traditional for the holiday. Carp is regarded as Nikolas' servant. You'll see enormous live carp for sale in the markets in the days coming up to Nikulden.

 

24 December - Christmas Eve

 

Christmas Eve for most Bulgarians is a bigger celebration then Christmas itself because that’s the night when Jesus was born. “Badni vecher” is the first of the Christmas nights. The main elements of this festive night are assigned for “badnik”, the ritual table and the Christmas meals. 
“Badnik” is an oak or a pear tree, cut down by a young man for keeping the fire in the fireplace all night long. The dinner is like a feast. The table is elongated in contrast to the round table typical for other rites. 

On the table are set not only ritual breads, but meatless meals like beans, stuffed vine leaves filled with rice and wheat, stuffed peppers, pumpkin pastry, boiled corn, walnuts, etc. As a rule the dishes are an odd number – seven, nine, and so on. On the table are set rakia, red wine, oshav (dry fruits which you'll see for sale in little sellophane bags). After the whole family gathers together around the table, nobody stands up until the end of the dinner. If something is needed, the oldest man of the household brings it by walking bowed down for the wheat to be “stooped” with grains. The table stays set all night long because it is believed that the dead come for dinner. I was lucky enough to be invited to the Christmas Eve dinner one year, and we began with the eldest person there lighting a little old-fashioned oil lamp and then saying a blessing whilst tracing large circles in the air with the lit lamp.

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25 December - Christmas Day

 

Christmas (Koleda) is a continuation of Christmas Eve – the last day of the Advent Fast and starts at midnight with a ritual called Koleduvane. 
The time for Koleduvane is strictly determined by the tradition – from midnight until sunrise on Christmas day. At this time it is believed that supernatural creatures –vampires, ghouls and goblins come out and walk around. The Koledari, chase them away through the ritual songs. During the night they go from house to house, sing songs wishing health, happiness and rich harvest. The householders give them ritual breads, called kravai (ring-shaped bun). It is a tradition on Christmas day for a pig to be slaughtered. Women knead ritual bread with a coin put into it. The one who takes the piece with the coin will be healthy and lucky through the year. The table stays set all day long, ready for everyone who visits the family. These days Christmas has all the elements familiar throughout the western world - Christmas trees, decorations, presents, Father Christmas etc, but so far remains much less of a commercial thing.