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New Year in Bulgaria – Traditions and Customs

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018

The European country of Bulgaria is very legendary in terms of its celebrations and festivities, and the same aspect is very much perceptible in the New Year celebrations as made in the country.

New Year in Bulgaria is also called as St. Basil’s Day or popularly as ‘Survaki’.

It is considered to be a prominent time of the year, even more than Christmas, more so because of its traditional and historical association. For the fact, New Year celebrations in Bulgaria are more prominent and grand than Christmas celebrations, which are comparatively silent.
New Year Celebrations in Bulgaria

People of Bulgaria are very eminent all around the world for their fun loving nature. At the time of New Year, one can pretty evidently experience that. People with a smile on their faces are all around the town, showing their enthusiastic and exciting participation in New Year celebrations made at different places.

Usually, people move out of their houses along with their friends and families, and plan out their New Year evenings and New Year days on the beaches and beach resorts. New Year’s Eve saw an overcrowded occupancy in almost all bars, restaurants, clubs, and other party places. Some other people organize house parties, with only close friends and family people being invited.

Also, different cultural and sporting events are organized all over Bulgaria which strongly reflects the customs, traditions, and history of the country. Among these, music concerts, live performances, carnivals, and processions are most popular. People dress up in fancy and funny clothes, with equally amusing masks on their faces, participate in these carnivals and processions.

Also, they are grand in their impact, with lots of fun, spirit, and fiesta involved. Adventure sports such as paragliding, car racing, rock claiming, etc.; as well few traditional sports are organized in and around the time of New Year at various places in Bulgaria. Some people dress themselves as Santa Claus on New Year’s Eve, and then distribute gifts and sweets among small children. They are also crowd pullers during the New Year’s time.

As soon as the date of New Year gets closer, people buy themselves new clothes. After the New Year speech of the country’s President, all Bulgarians start preparing for midnight celebrations.

Bursting firecrackers is an important part of New Year celebration making in Bulgaria. Apart from small children and people of young age, big and grand firecrackers shows are organized at social level. As soon as the church bell rings twelve, all the firecrackers are blown away in union to form an implausible scene over the Bulgarian sky. It is followed by exchange of wishes and good luck for the coming year.
Traditional New Year Celebrations in Bulgaria

Traditional New Year celebrations in Bulgaria can prominently be witnessed in the western part of the country, in Central Balkan Range, and in few parts around Danube. Traditional feast is organized on New Year’s Eve with special dishes on the platter for the evening, with more than few meat dishes, pig head, a plain cake, and cheese pastry customary meant to be available.

The cheese pastry has few fortune slips in it, with one slip meant to be drawn by everyone present in the feats. After a turn and motion of three times, everyone is offered to choose a slip. It is followed by the distribution of the spitted bread pieces by the oldest person present in the feast in a decreasing order of the age. It is then followed by the distribution of the pig’s head. Pork is saved on the Eve to be distributed on New Year’s Day.

Source: www.123newyear.com