Bulgarian Christmas traditions

Fasting

For many Bulgarians, the preparations for Christmas start with Advent fast which lasts 40 days and starts on November 15th. Orthodox Christians often don’t eat meat and dairy during the Fast, and depending on the day, also olive oil, wine and fish.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is very important in the Orthodox Church and many Bulgarians are going to a Midnight Mass Church Service.

​The dinner on this day is also special. The meal should traditionally have an odd number of dishes in it (normally 7, 9 or 11) and an odd number of people sitting around the table.

Christmas Eve

There’s a special decorated loaf of bread called “pita” which has a coin baked in it. If you find the good, you’re meant to have good luck for the next year! The bread is normally cut by the oldest person in the family and they hand it around the table.

It’s traditional that the table is left with all the food on it until the morning of Christmas Day. It is believed that the ancestors might like something to eat during the night.

Christmas tree

Decorated Christmas trees are found in every house, on the city squares and in public buildings. The evergreen trees are a sign of everlasting life with God. The decorations include Christmas lights, garlands and balls.

Christmas Day

Once the fasting has ended, everyone enjoys an enormous dinner on Christmas Day, with a main dish of some type of meat which is often pork. The dinner is supposed to be rich marking the end of the Fast.
Among the traditional dishes are kebab, steaks, kavarma, Bulgarian sausages, sarmi, pumpkin pie.

Christmas Day

Although baklava is part of Turkish cuisine, it is a common dessert on the Bulgarian Christmas table.
The families exchange Christmas gifts and the little children are told that Santa Claus (“Dyado Koleda”) would bring their desired present if they have been good throughout the year.

New year’s Eve banitsa

A similar ritual occurs on New Year’s Eve as well. One of the obligatory meals on this holiday is the banitsa. It is a typical Bulgarian filo pastry with eggs and cheese and it is absolutely yummy! What is special here, however, is that on New Year’s Eve every slice of the banitsa contains a small lucky charm, written on a piece of paper (similar to a fortune cookie).

New year’s Eve banitsa

These charms usually include some funny rhymes and are said to determine what will happen to the person during the coming year. Whether it’s something ordinary like robust health, a new car, etc., or a more untypical thing – such as a lottery win or a marriage and a baby – these charms are often the source of much laughter around the dinner table.

Carol Singers (“Koledari”)
The “Koledari” are normally young men who go carol singing dressed in traditional clothing. The singing can only start after midnight on Christmas Eve. When they reach a house, they sing “the house song” praising and wishing the house well. Having the “Koledari” visit your home is meant to be good luck. After the singing, the head of the house will give the carol singers food to thank them for singing.