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Traditions and People Bulgaria is especially proud of its rich folklore traditions. Folk dances, music, national costumes and traditional rituals have an important place in the life of Bulgarians. Every town and village celebrates Christian holidays and folk festivities in its own special way.  Life-style More than half of the Bulgarian population lives in towns as a result of the intensive migration processes in the recent decades. The basic part of the inhabitants (88 %) are Bulgarians - a nationality formed through the amalgamation of Slavs, Proto-Bulgarians and Thracians. Bulgarian Turks, Jews, Armenians, Roma and other ethnic groups also live in the country. At present the Bulgarian family has one or two, rarely more children. Children go to crèches and kindergartens because most women go to work. In smaller settlements families live mainly in family owned houses amidst smaller or bigger yards, while in towns they live in apartments in blocks of flats. The number of state owned lodgings is comparatively small, as the Bulgarians traditionally value private property. Cuisine Bulgarian cuisine has grown out of wealth of culinary traditions, both local and foreign, combined in a way which is uniquely Bulgarian, offering cuisine with its own characteristics, originality and exceptional variety. Because of its geographical position and long history Bulgarian cuisine is a mixture between the best parts of the Slavonic, Greek and Turkish cuisines. National specialities include: Shopska salad (sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and parsley topped with grated sheep's cheese); and tarator ( a cold soup of chopped cucumber, walnuts and yogurt) perfect for hot summer days. White sheep's cheese baked with eggs is another favorite. Other typical items on the menu include kebapcheta (minced meat rolled into sausage shapes and grilled), kavarma (individual casseroles of pork or veal, onions and mushrooms), shishkebab, stuffed vine or cabbage leaves and moussaka. Yogurt too, tastes better in Bulgaria, its country of origin. Basic meals: Breakfast - tea, milk, coffee, bread and butter, white and yellow cheese cold cuts, fruit preserves Lunch - soup, main dish, salad (or pickled vegetables), dessert (or fruits) Dinner - hors d'oeuvre, main dish, dessert (fruits) The typical Bulgarian dishes are tasty, spicy, savoury, and rich in vitamins. These are prepared with many vegetables and spices, various kinds of meat, including game and fish. Widely popular for its taste, nourishing and curative properties is the Bulgarian yoghurt, a product resulting from the action of bacteria (Lactobacterium bulgaricum) characteristic of Bulgaria. We suggest that you taste:
Drinks -Famous for their quality are the Bulgarian white and red wines "Cabernet", "Gumza", "Trakia", "Melnik", "Misket", "Dimyat", "Tamyanka", "Riesling", "Aligote", "Chardonnay", "Merlot" and others. The typical Bulgarian alcoholic drink is rakiya (brandy) which is manufactured through distillation of fermented grapes, plums or other fruits. Its alcoholic content is 36-55 degrees. Good quality brandies are "Pliska", "Veliki Preslav", "Pomorie" and the anise-flavoured brandy. One can find bottled mineral water from the mineral springs of Gorna Banya, Bankya, Hisarya, Mihalkovo, Merichleri, Nevestino. There is a wide variety of fruit juices, nectars, soda drinks - Bulgarian, as well as imported. Typical Bulgarian cooling drink is buttermilk - yoghurt diluted with water. Festives and Customs Kukeri  The masquerade games and customs in Bulgaria have an ancient origin and could be observed as inherent to the ancient heathendom. With their strange clothes made of fur, cut shirts or women’s clothes, sewn up of bands, a mixture of national costumes and animal masks and horrifying faces, with continuous ringing bells of different in size and sound, these masquerade games and customs with their lively dancing ritual steps reflect the eternal fight between Light and Darkness, Good and Evil. On the last Sunday before Lent, masked koukery perform ritualistic processional dances to ward off evil spirits and ensure fertility at the onset of the growing season.Baba Marta & Martenitsa On the first of March we celebrate the beginning of spring. The day is called Baba Marta (or Grandma Marta in English). On that day you give a special present called a "martenitsa" to all the people you love. A "martenitsa" is small, two coloured and made of thread - white and red. Usually it (martenitsata) looks like a girl and a boy together. When someone gives you a martenitsa you should wear it either on your neck or pinned on your shirt until you see a stork. After that you can hang it on a blossoming tree for fertility. Nestinarstvo (Fire-dancing) Nestinarstvo (Fire-dancing) is one of the most mysterious phenomena in Bulgarian history and folklore. May 21- the day of Saints Constantine and Elena -Nestinarstvo, or fire dancing; practitioners walk barefoot on hot coals in small rural villages in the Strandzha mountains (or increasingly in tourist resorts) in this pagan event marking the arrival of summer. It is believed that the ritual is descended from Dionysian rites practised by ancient Thracians. The mistress of the house got up long before sunrise to bake a fresh round loaf, decorated on top with different symbolical images and magic signs designed to ensure rich crops. She would also cook a chicken stuffed with rice, and fill up a buklitsa (a wooden wine bottle) with wine. National costumes The national costumes are very specific cultural phenomena which evolved over long historical development. They have long been a determinant of Bulgarian folk culture which gives a visual idea of the ethnic specificity and ethnographic variety of the Bulgarian people. The traditional costumes are exclusively home made products, born out of the women's taste and creativity. Men's participation in this process was insignificant. The traditional materials for clothing textiles were: flax, hemp, wool, silk and cotton. Leather had comparatively small application, used for typical Bulgarian footwear caller tsurvouli (a kind of sandals), and furs were used for kalpatsi (men's fur caps). The composition of the Bulgarian national costumes is a complex one. It depended on the specific labour conditions and way of living. Music Folklore Bulgarian poetic folk art originates in ancient times and has a centuries-old history. The first preserved records of the existence of folk singers and songs derive from the 9th and 10th centuries. Most of the folk songs date from the 17th century. Folk songs are an expression of the Bulgarian way of life through the ages, resulting from the historical and social fate of the country, from its experience and popular customs. Bulgarians enrich the folk songs with their best qualities - diligence, honesty, steadiness, loyalty, wit and love of freedom. The songs grow from the inner needs of the creators to give expression of their thoughts and experience. They are sung on sad and joyful days - in the fields, in the meadows, on working-bees, playing the Bulgarian ring dance, called HORO, in the gathering places of the rebels - called HAIDOUTI. Their creators are the folk singers - people with poetical and musical talent. The songs as well as the fairy tales, riddles, proverbs and sayings are a product of joint creative work. As the folk songs were spread by word of mouth they changed and had many versions. Since the books were not easily accessible to the working people, folklore and songs were the source of their experience, wisdom and knowledge. According to their subject Bulgarian folk songs are ritual songs, labour songs, customs songs, historical, heroic and songs about the Haidouti. Souvenirs from Bulgaria Buying a souvenir, one can take away a memento of Bulgaria. Works of masters of traditional crafts can be found in the special shops (painted Troyan ceramics, wrought-iron and copper objects, boxes, candle-sticks, etc., wooden objects, decorated with poker-work, hand-made embroideries with folklore motifs, replicas of ancient guns and daggers, etc.). Records, musical cassettes and CDs with Bulgarian folk music, as well as folk musical instruments (bagpipe, shepherd's pipe, gadoulka, etc.) are offered for sale in music shops. Those interested in acquiring original works of art, items of archaeological, historical or antiquarian value or eager to enrich their collections with valuable Bulgarian coins or stamps should know that these are permitted for export, but they should inquire at the customs authorities as to a proper way and the necessary documents. When making such purchases, do not hesitate to consult a specialist so as to avoid forgeries. In order to export paintings, sculptures or icons of commercial value, one should have a document of evaluation to be issued by the National Art Gallery in Sofia. These can be bought at shops, run by the Union of Bulgarian Artists, or at private art galleries. The world-famous rose oil is very expensive and unavailable in shops, but one can buy a phial of attar of roses. Usually foreign tourists are interested in silver jewellery (filigree). If you would like to buy alcohol (brandy and wine), we recommend the specialised shops. |
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