| FROM OUR ROVING REPORTER
This letter from Anna refers to her Christmas, 2002, however, you might be interested to hear a little about customs in Bulgaria through her experiences.
This Christmas has been anything but prosaic! The snow had gone from Sofia
and I thought a "white Christmas" would be nice, so went to the delightful
town of Bansko (pop.9,000), located 160 kms from Sofia at the foot of the Pirin
mountains. It's the most recently developed centre for skiing and so does not
attract large numbers of foreign tourists but more Bulgarians, this time of year
anyway. Bansko was founded in the 10th century and by mid 18th
century was very prosperous with traders & merchants; craftsmen & artists;
icon painting & wood working schools. The architecture is interesting &
many of the National Revival stone and timber buildings were built behind fortress
type walls to shield inhabitants from Ottoman occupiers.
On Christmas Eve the streets were practically deserted, not surprising as
traditionally this is the day for families to gather together and everyone else
was on the snowfields. The streets and pavements were very icy but there was
snow and I got my "white Christmas." Difficult as it was to walk around,
I none-the-less spent much time exploring. In the evening I planned to eat at
the small hotel at which I stayed but discovered the mehana in the basement
was not, after all, open. Imagine my surprise when the manageress then invited
me to dine with her family, and the cook, and a guy who helps out at the hotel!
I never cease to be amazed at the warmth of Bulgarian people. There were platters
of grapeleaf & rice rolls, cabbage & rice rolls, stuffed capsicums, legumes,
sauerkraut, meat & homemade bread. A coin is put inside the bread, whomever
gets that will be wealthy the next year! Some people also put inside tiny pieces
of a branch from a tree which have been marked, the number of marks signifying
luck, love, good health etc.
There was wine, and to finish, banitsa, the cheese pastry of which
Bulgarians (and I) are so fond. The manageress had pinned pieces of paper rolled
around a toothpick, on top, with New Year wishes. It seemed fortuitous that I
should pick the piece of banitsa labelled "abroad."! Finally
we had the Bulgarian equivalent of baklava – delicious! Uneaten food is left
on the table overnight, supposedly for relations who are no longer with us.
Just before Christmas I saw many people walking around with small branches
from a tree (the same used to put inside the bread). I was told that in some
families, popcorn, peppers etc are attached, then the branch is used to "beat"
a family member on the back whilst saying "Merry Christmas" and this
person in return gives money. Then there are the Koledari (Koleda meaning Christmas),
they dress in long woolly cloaks & carry sticks, & go around the houses
singing Christmas carols. In return they are given a type of bread in the form
of a ring, which is put on the stick. However, 3 young men came to the mehana
I was at on Christmas night, and the manager wouldn't let them in; he said they
would want money.
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On Christmas Day everyone was out and about, and all the shops were open.
I went to the Orthodox church (1835), beautiful inside, there were many people
coming and going. Six men with magnificent voices sang in perfect harmony, unaccompanied,
in amongst the chanting. I stayed a while just to listen to them.
I then came across musicians in the square and some gypsies imitating Kuker dance. They had no costumes or masks but did wear the large bells around their waists, and had the sticks, and jumped up and down, warding off evil spirits. The music was great. Another group of musicians walked around the streets, they were also a delight to hear.
On Christmas night I went to one of the many mehanas in Bansko. Cosy,
typical restaurants, many of which occupy the 19th century stone and
timber buildings and this time of year, with log fires blazing. This one was
quite small but there were three super musicians, and room enough to dance. They
played only Bulgarian music and when people started dancing Horo, I joined in.
It was a fun evening and just when I was thinking of leaving, the manager arrived
with a glass of wine for me to have "on the house." He was amazed that
someone all the way from Australia could do Bulgarian dances (told me he can't
dance), said he was proud of me and therefore presented me with the wine! So
naturally I stayed longer, danced some more, and left with a wonderful feeling
of well-being, half skating back to the hotel on the icy streets!
A memorable Christmas indeed.
Anna writes that the festival described below was quite special for her,
as it was the first time she'd been 'on tour' with "Zornitsa", in Bulgaria.
Saturday 11th October, 2003, dawned bright and sunny, following
days of abysmal weather - rain, wind, and snow on Mt. Vitosha. So it was in high
spirits that six carloads of "Zornitsa" dancers arrived at Stara Zagora
for the Students Folklore Festival.
This was the 7th year the Society of Folk Art had organised this festival which aims at preserving Bulgarian culture. The number of participating ensembles (six) was smaller than usual but, never-the-less, the variety of music and dances performed by brilliant groups had such an impact that one was left with the feeling of being transported into another world.
Those taking part were:
Zornitsa (Student Folklore Ensemble, Sofia); Traiantsi (Folklore Ensemble), Stara Zagora (Folklore Ensemble at the Thracian University), Stara Zagora; (Folklore Ensemble of the Youth Centre, Haskovo); Trakiiska Mladost (Folklore Ensemble at the University of Agriculture, Plovdi), Academic Folklore Ensemble (Main Student Centre, Sofia).
Preceding the late afternoon concert there was a "defile"
(walking, dancing) through the beautiful tree lined streets of the town to the
Municipality Council building, in front of which the concert took place. There
was an improvised "stage" which looked lovely, but for dancing? - paving
stones and pebbles set in concrete! However, the ever resourceful Bulgarians
were not deterred and put as much energy and flair into the performances, as
ever.
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