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

101.

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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102.

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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103.

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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104.

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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105.

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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106.

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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107.

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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108.

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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109.

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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March 1st Baba Marta

by ChristinaNest

This is a unique Bulgarian custom, coming from the very first days of Bulgaria, the 7th century. There are many legends about it. One has it that when the first Bulgarian khan Asparuh (who founded Bulgaria in 681) crossed the Danube he wanted to send a message to his army, so he was supposed to tie a white thread onto a pidgeon's foot. Well, the pidgeon's foot started blleding and as he arrived, the white thread was dotted with red stains. This is the prototype of what we call 'Martenitsa' that is worn for most of the month of March for health and good crops. There are 2 types: the simplest one consists of one white and one red thread engangled together and worn on the writes as a bracelet. The other type, two small red-and-white figures of a boy,Pizho, and a girl, Penda, joined together and attached by a pin on clothes, worn as a brooch. The days before March 1 you can see a lot of...

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National Holiday

by ChristinaNest

Today, the 3rd or March, is Bulgaria's national holiday, Liberation day (March, 3rd, 1878). Bulgaria was finally free after 500 years under the Turkish yoke. During that half a millennium the Ottoman Turks killed many many people, destroyed churches and palaces and burnt down whole villages, tried to convert all Bulgarians to Islam, cut off the heads and raped the women of many who refused, kidnapped Bulgarian boys from almost every home to convert them and train them for the Turkish army... And still even after such a long nightmare Bulgarians kept their culture, language and religion, organized many a rebellion, and finally, with the help of the Russia gained our freedom. We didn't get all our lands back, we were a toy in the hands of the Great Powers but at least we were free again.

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Celerating Name Days in Bulgaria

by hekate

Since the most of the Bulgarian population claims to be Orthodox Christians we do have the custom to celebrate name days. A Name Day is a day of the year set aside on the calendar of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to celebrate the name and life of a certain Saint. Everyone named after that specific saint has cause for celebration, somewhat similar to a birthday. Even worse, more people then to know your name day even if they keep forgetting your birthday. What happens on your name day in Bulgaria?The tradition is that the person who is supposed to be celebrating should expect guests. That is the main idea – you do not invite the people, basically anyone who remembered that you have a name day can come along and stay as much as he / she likes. In most cases you will get a gift but it is not a must. What you should do is to be at home ready and prepare yourself for long and exausting...

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The Day of St. Basil the Great (Vasilov Den)

by hekate

Since the most of the Bulgarians I know claim to be Orthodox Christians on 1 January besides the start of the New Year we also celebrate the Day of St. Basil the Great. This puts the start of the numerous name day celebrations in January. The funny thing is that like me most of the people do not know much about the saints. So, I decided to find out something more about the saint: The saintBasil was born in Caesarea of Cappadocia in 329, after the persecutions of Christians had ceased, but his parents had lived through them. He was studying for a lawyer and orator in Athens (351-356), where two of his classmates were Gregory of Nazianzus and the future Emperor Julian the Apostate. When he returned home, the influence of his sister Macrina led him to seek the monastic life. He founded a monastic settlement near his home and stayed there five years. While in the West there are numerous...

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St. Stephen's Day (Stefanov Den)

by hekate

Here are some more facts related to Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen and how is his memory celebrated: The saint: Saint Stephen is the Protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity and is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church and its Eastern Rite, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of England and its Anglican Communion among other religious denominations. He is identified as one of the first deacons chosen by the early church in Acts of the Apostles. How is he represented on icons: Saint Stephen is traditionally invested with a crown of martyrdom for Christianity and is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' palm. In Eastern Christian iconography he is shown as a young beardless man with a tonsure, wearing deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church building and censer. Ethimology:Saint Stephen's name is simply derived from the Greek...

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Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen

by hekate

Since yesterday was Sefanov den (St. Stephen's Day) I decided to collect some info for this saint and put the result of this compilation here. So here it is: Not much is known for the Saint Stephen’s early life. He had lived early in the First Century. He was a Greek-speaking Jew who came to live in Jerusalem and was a disciple of Gamaliel, the teacher of the Law mentioned in Acts 5:34 and 22:3. Stephen was the first of the seven deacons whom the Apostles established in Jerusalem to care for the poor, and to distribute alms to them. Stephen worked many wonders and miracles among the poor people of Jerusalem, whom he served. After a while, Stephen was named the archdeacon of his area. This caused a consternation among the leaders of the Temple in Jerusalem. They slandered Stephen and said that he had blasphemed against God and against Moses. The leaders of the Jewish Temple found false...

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Don't forget

by deeper_blue

No matter how many times you are warned before you arrive, it's never going to fully register that Bulgarians (the only country other than Albania) nod their head for no and shake it for yes. If confused as to the message (take into account that some Bulgarians will reverse their habit if they realise you are a foreigner) say da ily nay (yes or no?) Another way Bulgarians say no, is to shake their index finger from side to side... try doing that while nodding your head!

Traditional Costumes from Bulgaria

by desert_princess

Beautiful they are , bulgarian traditional costumes!!!!Made out of natural tissues as cotton , wool and linen,decorated with hand weaven lace , beads and paillettes,they were the pride of our grandmas. Some of the costumes were for everyday use ,others were worn just on special ocasions like wedding ceremonies , and dance festivals.costumes were showing aswell the society status of their owner, or belong to a certain region like for example the Rhodopa mountain costumes. All of them so colorful and pretty , are a reflection of the true bulgarian spiritYou can buy Real Costumes in the Bulgarian Souvernirs shops , or at least a puppet dressed in them - In Sofia I can think of The Shop in the Subway of the National Assembly,Aswell as in the St Sofia Statue Subway.

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"Tepavitsa" - Rila Monastery

by desert_princess

"Tepavitsa" at Rila Monastery - An Ingenious mechanism bringing the waters from the river into a pond to wash the monastery carpets. They become all clean , just from the washing power of the running water. Sometimes soap is rubbed on them to acheive a greater effect.

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Wood fairies - "Samodivi "

by desert_princess

The mythological wood fairies ,called "samodivi" are being often found in our folklore.Samodivi are living in the deep green woods and are excellent dancers. They wear transparent robes that show their beautiful almost transparent bodies and walk bare feet . You can see them when the moon is full.Their long hair are following their wild dances...to be continued

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... 

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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. Nesebar Local Customs
  7. Burgas 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. Arbanasi Local Customs
  19. Kazanluk 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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