Bulgaria Month

This is the pivotal day of my year. June 25 is when we make the turn from the previous wonderful Christmas (sniffsniff) and toward the next fantastic Christmas (hooray!). So, with six months to go until Christmas 2009, we take a look at Christmas in Bulgaria, about which there is no shortage of Web sites of unknown-to-me validity:

• http://www.abvg.net/Traditions/Christmas/index.html --"Bulgaria's Orthodox Church turned to the reformed Julian calendar in 1968. Since then, Bulgaria has celebrated Christmas for three days starting on December 25, same as most of the Christian world. ... For Orthodox Christians, Christmas comes after 40 days and nights of fasting. The forty-day Advent, started on November 15, finishes on this day. Folk beliefs hold it that the Mother of Jesus began her labours on St. Ignatius’ Day and gave birth to God’s son on Christmas Eve, but that she told of it only on the next day. According to tradition, when bearing her first child, a young mother did not let others know of the birth on the same day; instead people were told about it only on the following day, when guests were invited into the home. Throughout the fasting period, Orthodox Bulgarians will avoid alcohol and animal products. ..."
• http://www.questbg.com/en/lifestyle/life/770-christmas-compared--"... The build up to Christmas happens over a two week period and the celebration itself is not as huge as it is in the West, possibly because during the Communist era, Christmas was not celebrated openly as a religious festival because Communist dogmas forbid the following of religion. Rather than enter into periods of frantic shopping and excess, many Bulgarians take life easy and many still choose to fast for 40 days in fact right up until midnight on Christmas Eve. Main retail outlets do add festive decorations to their stores and the growth in shopping malls is adding to the trend of pushing Christmas from a commercial angle, but the trend has not reached the excesses of the Western world and only small sections of a store are dedicated to Christmas. Likewise, last year on Bulgarian TV there were only three advertisements for Christmas; one from Coca Cola, another from a Rakiya company who were suggesting the purchase of their brand with your Christmas salad and a phone company offering an encyclopaedia to those who took out a contract during the Christmas period. The net result of this barren land of advertising was that children were not craving for all of the latest gizmos. Indeed most children including those of ex pats ask for only one main gift as opposed to a catalogue of demands. ..."
• http://www.geocities.com/nomer6/bulgaria.html--"... It all starts out on the 23rd of December! All the families go out to the shops and buy the food for the holiday! Please take into account that on the Christmas Eve, Bulgarians eat only vegiterian! The whole family goes out to buy the groceries and of course the Christmas Tree! ... The following day the family waks up early to decorate the rest of the house. Of course all the family don't remain free, they are all "bossed around" by the mother. She tells them with what they can help, setting the table, hoovering the house, cleaning the house, going out for last minute shopping, and helping her with the cooking. Everyone works hard the whole day and at about seven o'clock the closest relatives begin to arrive. The family is now ready - all dressed up formally, the table is set, the house is spottless and everyone is ready to have a dinner. The Christmas Tree is of course lit as well as some candles and the atmosphere of the living room is very warm and merry!!!! ..."
• http://www.santas.net/bulgarianchristmas.htm--"... A special diner, consisting of at least twelve dishes is prepared. All of them are without meat and each of them represents a separate month of the year. The dishes consist of beans, different kinds of nuts, dried plums, cakes, and the traditional Banitza. ..."
• http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/bulgaria.html--"... Straw is used for decorations to symbolize the straw in the stable at Bethlehem. Some place the straw on the table and cover it with a white cloth before placing the dinner plates on the table. ... As part of the (Christmas Eve) ritual, the father of the family moves through the house with incense while the family recites special prayers to drive away any evil spirits that may be lurking. Once the dining room is incensed, everyone takes their place at the table and no is supposed to stand up before the entire meal is finished. ... The Christmas Eve table is not cleared until the following morning. Once again, traditions vary in some areas regarding the reason. Some say that it is to insure that there will be plenty of food in the coming year, while others leave the food out for departed family members whose spirit may return. Still others leave the food on the table in case Joseph and Mary stop on their way to Bethlehem. ... It's traditional for young men, called Koledari, to go from house to house singing seasonal carols wishing for good luck and good health. They are rewarded with food and, sometimes, money. ..."
• http://www.geocities.com/nomer6/bulgaria.html--"... They go round the houses in the village or in the town from midnight till dawn. On their way, in front of the gate and in the house they sing specific ritual songs. The songs differ from one another according to the place they are sung and the person they are dedicated to. As a whole, these songs are ritual wishes for happiness in the family and rich crop in the farm. The first song usually begins with this verse: 'Get up, get up dear host!/We are singing for you!/We have come to visit you,/We are good guests for you, koledari!' ... In the morning the family wake up to find their presents underneath the Christmas Tree! Everyone opens their presents and thank SANTA :-) for the presents. They all have breakfast and call friends and relatives to wish them a MERRY CHRISTMAS and make an arangement to meet somewhere and have a snowball fight! In the evening everyone stays up late or goes to a Christmas Concert in the theater! ..."
• http://www.abvg.net/Traditions/Christmas/index.html--"... And we should mention in closing ... the Bulgarian greeting is 'Vesela Koleda,' Merry Christmas."