Christmas in Bulgaria

By: Julie Kiriakov Caswell

In Bulgarian “Merry Christmas” is “Chestita Koleda”

In Cyrillic it is written честита коледа

In Bulgaria, Christmas follows the last day of the 40 day Fasts dedicated to God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. On Christmas Eve, the 24th of December, we eat only vegan dishes, just like during the fasts, and the number of the dishes has to be an odd number for good luck.

My family in Bulgaria prepared seven different dishes.

1. Grilled eggplant with olive oil, vinegar, parsley and garlic.

2. White bean stew baked in a clay pot

3. Grape leaves stuffed with rice

4. Red and green peppers stuffed with rice and beans.

5. Salad of fresh tomatoes,  cucumbers, onions and grilled peppers

6. Grilled chestnuts

7. Bulgarian Pitka with a small shiny  coin in it

Tradition: the oldest person in the household breaks the Pitka, a round bread, and gives the first piece to God, the second to himself and continues giving pieces of bread to all according to age. Whoever finds the coin in his piece is the lucky one and the luck of the family will depend on him or her.

After the meal the table is not cleared away, because it is believed that God will personally come and sample your dishes and bless you with his presence.

https://geology.com/world/bulgaria-satellite-image.shtml
http://www.all-flags-world.com/country-flag/flag-bulgaria.php 

Thank you, Julie Kiriakov Caswell for sharing your Bulgarian Christmas with us.

If you’d like to learn about Julie Caswell’s life growing up in communist Bulgaria, Click Here.
You can find out how she and her family escaped Bulgaria. Then later how she announced the fall of the Berlin Wall on the radio.