Guide to Bulgarian culture for expats living in Bulgarian property
There can be no end of perfectly good reasons for choosing to buy Bulgarian property. Whatever your personal motivation for upping sticks and living in Bulgaria, you will probably integrate more easily into your new home if you understand a little about Bulgarian culture and society, whether that be the cycle of festivals, Bulgarian music, or the place of religion in the modern society.
Who are the people living in Bulgaria today?
The majority (85%) of the 8.7million people living in Bulgaria today speak the country´s official language: Bulgarian. Turkish is spoken by 9%, most of them in the south eastern plains. Minority languages are Macedonian (which is almost only a dialect of Bulgarian), Romani, Gagauz and Albanian.
Most young pople living in Bulgaria speak some English, although the older generation generally learnt Russian as a second language. Bulgaria has a relatively old population, especially in rural areas, where poverty and limited job opportunities have driven many younger people to the cities.
Although Bulgaria has a significant (13%) Sunni Muslim population, Bulgaria is predominently Orthodox Christian. Some 85% if Bulgarians claim to be Orthodox, but in practice, the church plays a minor role in Bulgarian life except among the elderly. Younger people living in Bulgaria tend to have a very relaxed approach to religion.
Bulgarian easter eggs are cracking!
The Orthodox Easter occurs a week or so later than in western Europe. Churches are generally full for midnight mass on Easter Saturday, after which congregations pour out onto the streets carrying candles (as symbols of the Resurrection) and start cracking colourfully painted eggs, specially decorated by the families, against the wall of the church.
Name Days are more important than birthdays in Bulgarian culture
Name Days are alive and well in modern Bulgarian culture and are often better observed than birthdays. Most are on fixed calendar dates, with about 20 name days per month. A Name Day is celebrated by people named after a particular saint (eg all the Ivans living in Bulgaria celebrate 7th January, the feast day of St John). Festivities typically take the form of a family meal and the giving of small gifts, usually of something relevant to the name or the saint.
Spring cleaning your Bulgarian property leads to good luck
The imminent arrival of Spring is celebrated on 1st March each year when every household springcleans their Bulgarian property, symbolically sweeping away the winter months. The day is known as ´Baba Marta´, meaning Granny March, and people exchange ´Martenitsa´ - amulets made of red and white woollen threads - as good wishes for health, love and, traditionally, a good harvest.
Today, Baba Marta holds a special place in Bulgarian culture and the exchange of Martenitsa is fondly practiced by almost everyone living in Bulgaria. They are given to loved ones, friends and anyone you feel close to, and can be worn on clothing or around the wrist or neck. If you are lucky enough to be given one, you should wear it until you see either a stork or swallow return from migration, or a blossoming tree. You then remove the Martinitsa and hang it on a blossoming tree.
Bulgarian culture and its magical folklore
Most Bulgarian folklore harks back to the days when almost everyone living in Bulgaria worked on the land. Symbols of this agrarian past can be seen in stonework and wood carvings adorning some traditional Bulgarian property, in embroidery and pottery, and even in ornamental figurines made of bread. Folk tales mix magic with pastoral life and the never-ending conflict between rich and poor. Bulgarian music and song also tell stories of everyday love in the fields, and most traditional Bulgarian dances are celebrations of the harvests. Some of the most popular folk festivals are listed below:
January: Koukeri Carnival in Pernik and Doupnitsa
May: Fire-dancing Festival in Bulgari in Strandzha mountains
May/June: Festival of Roses in Kazanlak, Karlova, Stara Zagora and nearby villages
May/June: International Folklore Festival in Koprivshtitsa
June: Orpheus Festival (celebration of Bulgarian music), Smolyan
July: International Folklore Festival in Veliko Turnovo
August: Bagpipe Festivals in Mugla and Gela in the Rhodope mountains
August: Folk festivals in Bourgas and Varna
August: Festival of the Sea in Balchik and Sozopol
August: Pirin Song and Folk Festival in Pirin in the Rila Mountains
September: Rozhen Song and Folk Festival in the Rhodope Mountains
Whether you are on holiday or living in a Bulgarian property permanently, a chance to attend one of these folk festivals should be eagerly seized. Traditional Bulgarian culture usually means folk dancing and singing to the haunting sound of gaida (bagpipes), acrobatic fire dancing, performances of Bulgarian music and wonderful parades of people dressed in the colourful costumes of their region.
