Today has been a lovely day. It's been a day of baking gingerbread, shelling walnuts and making Christmas cards while listening to a variety of Christmas music - American and Bulgarian. It's been a day of reflection of Christmases past and of family and friends - old and new.
What I have observed so far is that Christmas season here is less commercial than what I'm familiar with in the US. And celebrations don't begin too far in advance - just a week or 10 days before Christmas. I have heard ads on the radio for holiday sales, and probably if I watched t.v., ads would be there too. The village stores have stocked some Christmas items like a few toys, decorations and candies. But I'm not missing Black Friday, the constant messages of buy, buy, buy, nor the frenzy I often feel between Thanksgiving and Christmas. One obvious reason - no Thanksgiving at the end of Nov. here. Regardless, things seem more mellow here. People are preparing for community celebrations - singing, dancing, readings, etc. Oh, and one thing I don't like is firecrackers and bottle rockets. For the past week or so they've been pretty loud and frequent in the evenings.
Tonight I joined ladies from the village at a "disco" in the village for dancing, camaraderie and a "tumbler" (aka raffle). There are many prizes so lots of people get to go home with something. They are simple but it's the idea of the drawing of numbers adds to the fun of the evening. Prizes ranged from a roll of toilet paper, soaps and creams (essentials) to vafli (favorite wafer sweets), napkins with a Christmas design and one adorable mini-poinsettia (items for fun). A lady at my table won 2 items several minutes apart and she got two identical stick-em hooks in the shape of a flower. :>) It's fun.
In my English classes I've been sharing Christmas vocabulary. One thing I have realized is that there are no candy canes in Bulgaria. No one I've spoken with seems to know that they are pepperminty sweet treats. I looked for (basic) ribbon for gifts and I didn't find any. Granted I may not have been looking in the right places, but I looked in the villages and in the bigger towns so I don't know how common it is here.
Here's a little bit of info on Bulgarian holiday tradition (I borrowed the info from worldofchristmas.net, and put my comments in parentheses). Much of it has been explained to me but I wanted to double check my understanding. It's a time when families gather and share food and gifts.
Christmas Eve Celebrations
Prior to Christmas day
celebrations, Bulgarians observe a 40 day fast, until the eve of Christmas. (I wasn't aware of this until I read it. I don't think many people observe this in the village I live in.) The
fast begins on November 15th of every year. During the fast, people stay away
from animal products, yoghurt, cheese, butter, eggs and milk. Christmas Eve is
as important as Christmas day during which an extravagant vegan meal is prepared
for the entire family. Christmas season starts off from 20th of December and
extends up to the 26th of the month. It is commonly believed in Bulgaria that
Mary gave birth to Christ on Christmas Eve, but announced the birth on Christmas
day. This is exactly why mothers of a new born announce the birth of their
babies only a day after they are born.
The Extravagant
Feast
Bulgarian customs state that the Christmas feast should have
more than seven meals or nine, and that it should be an odd number. This is
because there are seven Gods in Bulgaria while nine is the number that
symbolizes the nine months of pregnancy. The dishes made on Christmas Eve bring
out unique flavors. These dishes contain beans, cabbage, round leaf and involve
dried fruits (oshav) and nuts. Children, pregnant women and the old are exempted
from the fast. The Christmas meal is a meal which marks the end of the fast and
soon after meat is presented on the table, it's time to eat. Banitza, a
traditional dish, is served with cheese, poultry, pork, etc. It makes for a
joyful completion to the fast. Small pretzels are prepared during the festival
for young men (koledars) who visit places and sing for the health and prosperity
of the house.
Christmas Traditions In
Bulgaria
Bulgarians follow the ethics of the Eastern Orthodox Church
according to which the forty day fasting period and the much adored Christmas
Eve meal are prominent. The exchange of Christmas gifts has become an important
aspect in Bulgaria, especially for children. This was not too common in the
past. This is done on Christmas morning and the western myth of Santa Claus
prevails among Bulgarian children. During the 20th century came the advent of
the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree usually stays in a house until New Year
Eve or sometimes even after.
Another tradition that is observed even to the
present day is inserting a silver coin in a loaf of bread. An elderly person
cuts the loaf and distributes it equally among members of the family. The person
who finds the coin is believed to have good fortune for the rest of the year.
Future predictions are usually made while everyone is seated around the table
for the feast. People are keen to know to more about their fates and in some
homes it is done by breaking open a walnut. If it turns out to be good and
delicious, the person is believed to be lucky, while the one with empty walnut
has nothing but bad fortune awaiting him/her.
All for now.....
