chismast

Table
Traditionally, the Christmas Eve table consists of meatless dishes with an odd number. There are traditional for the country foods and dishes – this is a custom that has remained for centuries. After all, centuries ago there were no supermarkets, and the food for Christmas Eve and Christmas was what the family produced only – oshav of dried fruits, cereals – beans, boiled wheat, bread. All that is placed on the table today was what people had at their disposal from their own gardens. The oldest man in the family prays and breaks off and gives a piece of the ritual bread to all family members who are present at the table, starting with the oldest. In some places on the table should be present and wine, but necessarily red. As in other religious customs, it symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ and is therefore placed on the table.

The Future for Christmas
Budnik is a special tree that is placed in the fireplace on the night before Christmas. It is usually a thick and large piece, often made of oak or pear. According to how it burns in the hearth, it is guessed what the year will be like – if the fire is raging and spreads many sparks, next year will be fertile and rich.

It is imperative that the tree chosen for the budnik be large and thick. It will keep the fire burning in the house all night.The bichano table is a concern of women, but men also have certain roles in preparing for the holiday. For example, the selection and preparation of the future is precisely the task of the owner. He should bring it on his shoulder so as not to touch the ground, prepare it, and then light it. In the morning, the fire should be extinguished with wine.

If there are unburned parts, they can be used to make crosses or be embedded in the plough – this is a symbol of fertility and peasant labor.Ash is also scattered throughout the fields for fertility, and can also be used for medicinal purposes.

The Pig at Christmas
Apologies to anyone who is not a fan of pork. The old Bulgarian tradition says that on the day of December 25 – right on Christmas – the specially fattened pig is slaughtered. And then it is logically eaten. Since nowadays pigs are more “reserved” for villages than for cities, you can keep the tradition and cook pork for the store-bought Christmas lunch.The order of the piglet is not accidental. Before the Christmas day, a strict fast is observed for 40 days, in which meat is not eaten. So if you moved to a time when the main food was bread, then pork was a real dream after more the from a month of fasting.

Names
In many places, Christmas is also called by other names that are almost no longer used for various reasons. For example, Christmas Eve is also called Little Christmas or Badnik. The feasts for the birth of God begin even then, lasting three days.

The second day is Big Christmas or God. The name is preserved in some places in the country and still many of the old people call it that.

The Koleduvane
The tradition necessarily includes visiting carol singers. Koleduvane takes place at night between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. According to beliefs, then a number of supernatural beings such as karakonjuli, vampires, goblins come out. Left over from the ancient pagan traditions is the

belief that carol singers have the power to expel all evil spiric and that is why they pass through the dark part of the day from house to house.Their songs are called for health and prosperity, and the owners welcome them and donate them. There are various songs that are performed during Koleduvane, but they are all dedicated to calling for health and prosperity in the new year. At a time when the country was still highly agriculturally developed, Christmas fell in the middle of winter and the new agricultural year was yet to begin.It is customary for the hosts to donate the carol singers with the so-called. “collace”. This is a type of dough product that is made from flour, forming in a circle with a hole in the middle. It is often placed on the carol singer – a special stick that carol singers wear when they go around the houses. The traditional clothing of the carol singers includes thick and warm strawberries – special clothes hand-made from wool and fur by a long-forgotten technology.

Make a wish for Christmas.
Based on tradition, it is believed that on the night before Christmas, the sky opens and the innermost desires are fulfilled. This is the time when you can ask for something from the heart and get it. Even if you don’t believe it now, if you want something really from the heart, it can happen.

Christmas round bread

Making:
Products:
milk – 500 ml
eggs – 4 pcs.
yeast – 40 g
oil – 100 g
flour – 1.1/2 kg
salt and sugar – 1 tbsp.
poppy and sesame seeds

Making:
Separate two of the egg yolks. Sift the flour 3 times and knead the dough from the listed products. The dough thus prepared is beaten 100 times on the table top. A soft and plastic dough is obtained. Then follows the layout of the bread, which is left to rise, spread with the separated yolks and bake at 200 degrees – 40 minutes.
From the same dough I separate a small amount and prepare pretzels for the carol singers.

Banitsa with luck

Making:
Products:
Ready peels 300 g (use “Thracian”)
3 eggs

250 g white cheese
200 g of yogurt with a spoonful of soda, margarine.

Making:
Take one crust, spread with margarine, put another crust on it, and on them from the filling – beaten eggs, cheese and milk.
Turn from the wide part in a roll and arrange in a greased with oil pan. Spread the rest of the filling on top, diluted with water and fat.
Lucks I write on small pieces of paper, which I wrap with aluminum foil and put between the pie arranged in the pan.
Bake in a preheated moderate oven.

Festive stuffed turkey with vegetables

Products:
1 whole turkey without neck and trifles
2 cups sea salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large onions, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine

Making:
Rub the turkey thoroughly with salt. Put her in a big pot. Cover it with cold water. Let it sit overnight in the fridge to salt the meat well.Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Rinse the turkey well to remove excess salt into crystals. Pour the salt water as well.Spread the turkey with half of the melted butter. Place it with your chest down in a shallow baking tray. Pour half of the chopped vegetables around the turkey.

With the rest of the vegetables, along with the bay leaf, fill the inside of the turkey. Pour the white wine into the pan.

Bake for about 4 hours in a preheated oven at 180 degrees by periodically spreading the meat with butter. If necessary, cover so that it does not burn.Serve with baked potatoes or a side dish of green salad.

Baklava – classic

Продукти:
500 г тънки точени кори
400-500 г смлени орехи
250 г захар
1 пакетче ванилия
1 пакетче канела
олио за напръскване на корите и за намазняване на тавата
За сиропа:
400 г захар
120 мл вода
1 пакетче ванилия
1 лимон

Making:
Grease a pastry pan and put in it 2-3 filo pastries, spray them with oil. Mix the walnuts, cinnamon and vanilla. Spread a little of the mixture on the crusts, then put another 2-3 sheets sprinkled with oil, and then sprinkle with walnuts. Continue until the peel and walnuts are finished and finish with peel. Before baking, cut the baklava in the pan into squares.Bake in a preheated (up to 200°) oven until strongly browned.

Meanwhile, prepare syrup by pouring the sugar with water. Add vanilla and sliced lemon. Boil over low heat for about 20 minutes until the syrup almost thickens.Pour the baked baklava with the hot syrup, put it again in the warm oven and leave it for another 15-20 minutes to absorb the syrup. When it is ready, move it to a plate and let it stand for 1-2 days until it is completely dry.

Christmas sweet hearts, stars, trees

Ingredients

butter 250 g

3 cups flour

3 hard-boiled eggs

6 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 chocolate

Preparation

Pour all ingredients and stir until a dough is obtained. When  the dough is ready, roll out not very thinly. Cut out sweets    into different shapes and arrange them in a baking tray  covered with baking paper. in a preheated oven at 180    degrees seal until red. In a water bath melt the chocolate      for decoration.

Decoration:

Ground walnuts                                                        Chocolate sticks                                                                Colorful sugar                                                                       

NECESSARY PRODUCTS
eggs – 2 pcs.
milk – 300 ml
sugar – 4 tbsp.
sweetener – 1 tbsp. liquid
salt – pinch
dry yeast – 7 g
oil – 1 tbsp.
vanilla – 1 tsp liquid
flour – about 700 g
STUFFING
liquid chocolate – 1 small box
cinnamon – 1 tbsp.

METHOD OF PREPARATION
First, activate the yeast with a little warm milk, 1 tbsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. flour.Beat the eggs without one yolk that is for spreading.Mix with the rest of the milk, sugar, oil, liquid sweetener and vanilla.Sift the flour, add a pinch of salt and pour the milk mixture with the yeast.Knead a smooth dough, which you grease with oil and let foil rise.Roll out a large rectangular crust, brush it with chocolate and sprinkle cinnamon.Roll and cut lengthwise. Twist the two parts and wrap on a wreath on baking paper.Leave to rise bread, then grease with the yolk, sprinkle sugar if desired, and bake at 170 degrees. Optionally, sprinkle the Christmas chocolate wreath with powdered sugar.