Bulgaria Local Customs

  Rakia
by SoulFisher
 
  • Rakia
      Rakia
    by SoulFisher
  • Garden animals
      Garden animals
    by mirchica
  • Jewelry made of steel
      Jewelry made of steel
    by mirchica
  • The scene just before the opening
      The scene just before the opening
    by mirchica
  • Bulgarian anssambel Trakia
      Bulgarian anssambel Trakia
    by mirchica
 

Most Viewed Local Customs in Bulgaria

26.

shaking head vs nodding   Sofia

shaking head vs nodding, Sofia

 9 Reviews  I bet there are already plenty of tips on this topic, but I find it so important that I have decided to start my Sofia page from it. In Bulgaria, like in Macedonia and Albania (I have read this), the... 

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27.

etiquette   Sofia

etiquette, Sofia

 13 Reviews  One sure way to recognise Bulgarians is by watching how they season their meals. We take the salt shaker, then we tap the bottom of it few times on the table (to shake it well) and then we... 

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28.

hollidays   Sofia

hollidays, Sofia

 8 Reviews  New Year's Eve is a great holiday here. In Sofia, every year there is a free open-air concert in the square in front of the National Gallery. Usually it starts at 10 pm on Dec. 31 and ends in the... 

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29.

drinks   Sofia

drinks, Sofia

 6 Reviews  Ayryan is a typical analcoholic drink made with yoghurt and water, to which you can add as much salt as you wish. I tried it at the O!Shipka restaurant. More information here. When I went to have... 

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30.

friendship   Sofia

friendship, Sofia

 3 Reviews  Pleace click on the picture to receive your little virtual gift from Sofia. I hope you enjoyed the page and if you have questions - I will be happy to help you :0) 

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31.

parking   Sofia

parking, Sofia

 1 Review  Well, actually I saw the car a couple of times around my office and was thinking to take a picture of it but somebody put this idea into life before I did :))) So, I got the picture in my mail. That... 

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32.

bg dinner   Sofia

bg dinner, Sofia

 3 Reviews  we thought that the 'bulgarian dinner' would be another tourist trap, that they would give us some lousy food and we would have to pay extra for the music, or something like that. but, lucky for us,... 

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33.

Kukeri   Sofia

Kukeri, Sofia

 1 Review  The Bulgarian traditional beliefs define the 2 weeks after Xmas as the time of various evile spirits -- vampires, 'talasumi' (ghosts), samodivi (evil women spirits), and other demons. This is the time... 

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34.

strikes   Sofia

strikes, Sofia

 2 Reviews  The demonstration that took place when I was in Sofia was by forest workers and wasn't at all violent, but it was large. The demonstrators started from in front of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and I saw... 

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Day of Slavic Alphabet and Culture

by mirchica

For nearly a thousand years the Cyrillic alphabet has been one of the few officially recognised languages along with Hebrew, Greek and Latin for spreading Christianity among the peoples of Europe. Now, with Bulgaria's accession into the European Union on January 1 2007, Bulgarian has become an official language of the European Union (EU). Bulgarians are the only EU citizens who write in Cyrillic.Bulgarians honour the 24th of May as the day of Day of Slavic Alphabet and Culture. The day may also be called "Methodius Day", "Sts. Cyril & Methodius Day", "Day of Culture and Literacy" or "Alphabet Day". All over the country schools are decorated with flowers and portraits of the brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius in gratitude for the treasure of letters so suitable for the pronunciation of the Bulgarian language.

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3-th of March - The Liberation of Bulgaria

by mirchica

03.03.1878 is the official date when was signed the Treaty of San Stefano according to which Bulgaria was established as a separate client-state of the Ottoman Empire. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 brought that Liberty. Bulgaria achieved its full independence on 22 September 1908, already united with Eastern Rumelia(the Union of 1886)This is a big date in our history and all we admire the people that helped this Liberation happen. It is celebrated with marches,parades,national songs and fireworks.

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Eating With A Fork

by johngayton

Bulgarians tend to take life at a relatively slow pace and this applies too when eating. Eating is a very social activity here with the conversation being as important as the food.Another thing that I did notice is that Bulgarians only use a knife when the food needs to be cut, otherwise they always eat solely with a fork. This is perhaps why Bularian salads, such as Shopska, are always served cut into bite-sized pieces. And of course eating one-handed allows them to smoke and eat simultaneously!

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Weddings

by ChristinaNest

I recently went to a wedding where most customs were kept so I'll write some of the customs (some traditional, some international):- the traditional dance is called 'horo' (folk music), there are many horo's- the couple eats round bread dipped in honey- everybody shouts 'gorchivo' (bitter) so that the couple kisses - the couple breaks a round bread over their heads: whoever breaks the bigger piece will be the one 'ruling' the family- throwing of the flowers which is done in many countries: the girl who catches it will get marred next- the groom takes off the garter with his teeth and throws it - the boy who catches it will get married next- a lot of food- a lot of drinks

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Gipsies

by ChristinaNest

Bulgaria has quite a lot of gypsies (officially called Roma). While a lot is being done for their integration, most of them still are uneducated, unemployed and living in very poor conditions. You can see them go through the trash picking up paper, plastic and other recyclables. Some steal farm animals and produce, some, risk their lifes and steal cables or rails, some beg, or prostitute. Of course, there are many exceptions. For example, one of the best Bulgarian surgeons is a gypsy.

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Smoking everywhere!

by julia79

I don't know if it is a local custom, but I have to inform you about this bad Bulgarian habit. People smoke everywhere except in the transport vehicles, most of the offices and administrative buildings. Most of the pubs and restaurants have no smoking area, but it's not used very much. Well, at least you can always find a table there:)So, people, take your gas masks! :)

Bulgarian Language and Cyrillic - A Quick Intro:

by johngayton

One thing the casual visitor to Bulgaria will immediately realise is that the Bulgarian language is quite unique and has its own alphabet, Cyrillic, which, even though shared by several other Slavic languages, was in fact first developed here in Bulgaria.Reading and speaking the language is relatively simple once you get to grips with the Cyrillic (understanding it is a different kettle of fish!). Bulgarian is purely phonetic and so each letter almost always has the same sound, no matter how the letters are conjoined and so, unlike English for instance, there are no silent letters nor any confusing variations (such as: I read chapter one yesterday and tomorrow I will read chapter two).I'm not even going to attempt to give you a full-blown lesson in Bulgarian here but it isn't as daunting as it might first appear. The trick is to learn to read Cyrillic as its own language: don't try to...

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Sirni Zagovezni

by mirchica

Sirni Zagovezni - Shrove Sunday - was one of the best loved festivals coming at the close of winter. It always fell on the Sunday just seven weeks before Easter, marking the beginning of the Great Lent, the longest period of fasting throughout the year. In its way, the festival also served to mark the beginning of spring. In olden days, most typical of Sirni Zagovezni was the building of large bonfiresin the hills surrounding towns and villages; either one communal bonfire, or each of the individual neighborhoods made their own. The fires would be built in higher areas, for it was believed that no hailstorm would strike the places lit up by them. Young and old would gather round the bonfire where they apologized to each other, to forgive and forget the small wrongs and old quarrels in the name of friendliness and understanding. Usually the younger ask the older for forgiveness and are...

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Bulgarian Cuisine - A Personal Viewpoint Part#1

by johngayton

As befits a country which has long relied on its rich fertile soil Bulgarian cuisine is essentially a peasant cuisine where the growing of vegetables and saladstuffs take precedence. As with any agrarian economy the food culture has developed around maximising the use of the land and so sheep, cattle and goats are reared mainly for their milk, hens for their eggs and of course pigs as the staple source of meat protien.Because of Bulgaria's history, having been under Ottoman rule for several centuries, and its Southern Eastern European location the cuisine has many similarities to that of Turkey and Greece. There is however a repertoire of uniquely Bulgarian dishes, national and regional.Probably the best known of dishes is the ubiquitous "Shopska Salata" which is similar to the Greek equivalent but is defined by the use of Sirene which, whilst made in the same way as Feta cheese, has its...

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Koleduvane

by mirchica

In Bulgaria "Koleda" means Christmast.There is a tradition called "koleduvane"-around Christmas, groups of boys visit houses, sing carols and receive gifts at parting.Nowadays,this tradition is a little bit forgoten,but still there are men and boys who visit the houses.

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Local traditions and culture in Bulgaria

Top 3 Hotels in Bulgaria

Grand Hotel Sofia  Sofia

 6 Reviews and 104 Opinions  I also stayed here on business and was very happy with the accomodations. The fitness facilities... 

 Hotels in Sofia

Splendid Hotel  Varna

 1 Review and 38 Opinions  The hotel is just across the road from Varna Cathedral, its name is Splendid and that sums it it... 

 Hotels in Varna

Trimontium Princess Hotel  Plovdiv

 6 Reviews and 57 Opinions  this hotel is a part of famous Turkish hotel chain "Dedeman" They have many hotels in Bulgaria... 

 Hotels in Plovdiv

944 Hotels in Bulgaria
 
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Local Customs: Cities in Bulgaria
  1. Sofia Local Customs
  2. Sunny Beach Local Customs
  3. Varna Local Customs
  4. Plovdiv Local Customs
  5. Bansko Local Customs
  6. Burgas Local Customs
  7. Nesebar Local Customs
  8. Borovec Local Customs
  9. Veliko Turnovo Local Customs
  10. Sozopol Local Customs
  11. Ruse Local Customs
  12. Rilski Manastir Local Customs
  13. Golden Sands Local Customs
  14. Vidin Local Customs
  15. Balchik Local Customs
  16. Melnik Local Customs
  17. Trigrad Local Customs
  18. Kazanluk Local Customs
  19. Arbanasi Local Customs
  20. Karlovo Local Customs
  21. Belogradchik Local Customs
  22. Koprivshtitsa Local Customs
  23. Smolyan Local Customs
  24. Velingrad Local Customs
  25. Kurdzhali Local Customs
  26. Rila Local Customs
  27. Asenovgrad Local Customs
  28. Pirin Local Customs

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Popular Regions in Bulgaria

Oblast Grad Sofiya Local Customs  Burgaska Oblast Local Customs  Blagoevgradski Okrug Local Customs  Varnenska Oblast Local Customs  Plovdivska Oblast Local Customs  Loveshka Oblast Local Customs  Pazardzhishki Okrug Local Customs  Khaskovska Oblast Local Customs  Rusenski Okrug Local Customs 

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Could someone help us ? we are traveling by train from Plovdiv to Sofia, then Sofia to Veliko Tarnovo. How many train are there... 

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A: I haven't yet been to Bulgaria but whilst you are waiting for other VT-ers to reply... The... 

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