WINTER HOLIDAYS
St. Nicholas Day (Nikulden)
On St. Nicholas Day Bulgarians traditionally eat a special meal called Ribnik. There are plenty of different recipes but it is always made of crap. Also there is this bread called Nikuldenska Pita. It means bread for St. Nicholas Day. The holiday is exactly in the middle of the Christmas Fast so vegetarian foods like Sarmi, Beans Soup, Peppers stuffed with rice and wheat, walnuts and different fruits such as apples are very popular.
Some religious people say that the bread and the crap must be consecrated in a church. Moreover, the bones of the fish should not be thrown away. They must be burned and buried in the ground. It is believed that that way the ground will be more fertile.
Some religious people say that the bread and the crap must be consecrated in a church. Moreover, the bones of the fish should not be thrown away. They must be burned and buried in the ground. It is believed that that way the ground will be more fertile.
Traditional Ribnik
Ingredients: 1 large crap, onion, walnuts, tomatoes, cooking oil, parsley and lovage
Ingredients: 1 large crap, onion, walnuts, tomatoes, cooking oil, parsley and lovage
Directions: Firstly, you have to fry the onion and the
walnuts for 2-3 minutes. Secondly, you add the parsley and the lovage. Then you
fill the crap with the stuffing. After that, put in a pan the sliced tomatoes
together with a little cooking oil and the fish, of course. Roast for about 30
minutes.
Nikuldenska
Pita
Ingredients: 1kg flour, 2 eggs, 1/4kg yoghurt (kislelo mlyako), salt, sugar, saleratus, cooking oil
Ingredients: 1kg flour, 2 eggs, 1/4kg yoghurt (kislelo mlyako), salt, sugar, saleratus, cooking oil
Directions: In a big bowl you add
the flour, the salt and the saleratus. In a different plate or bowl you mix the
yoghurt with the eggs, the sugar and the oil. After that you put everything
together and stir with hands, you can add some water if it is needed. Leave the
dough to rise for about 30 minutes and bake.
Bulgarian Christmas Eve
Prior to Christmas day celebrations, Bulgarians observe a 40 day fast, until the eve of Christmas. The fast begins on November 15th of every year. During the fast, people stay away from animal products, yoghurt, cheese, butter, eggs and milk. Christmas Eve is as important as Christmas day during which an extravagant vegan meal is prepared for the entire family. Christmas season starts off from 20th of December and extends up to the 26th of the month. It is commonly believed in Bulgaria that Mary gave birth to Christ on Christmas Eve, but announced the birth on Christmas day. This is exactly why mothers of a new born announce the birth of their babies only a day after they are born.
Bulgaria's Christmas Eve is celebrated with a meal consisting of an odd number of dishes. This vegetarian meal includes grains, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Walnuts, in particular, are found on the Bulgarian Christmas Eve table. These nuts are cracked in order to predict success or failure for the coming year. Another special aspect of the the Bulgarian Christmas Eve meal is the round loaf of bread, into which a coin is baked. The person who finds the coin will be rewarded with good fortune.
The Christmas Eve dinner table may not be cleared until the next morning to provide sustenance for the ghosts of ancestors who may come back to visit before Christmas morning.
The next day the Bulgarian family usually brings Christmas lunch. Fasting is done and the eating of meat and animal products is permitted.
The Christmas Eve dinner table may not be cleared until the next morning to provide sustenance for the ghosts of ancestors who may come back to visit before Christmas morning.
The next day the Bulgarian family usually brings Christmas lunch. Fasting is done and the eating of meat and animal products is permitted.
Bulgarian Christmas Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2.2 pounds all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons oil or softened butter
- 4 large eggs (reserving 1 egg yolk to brush on bread)
- 1 tablespoon salt
Preparation:
1.
In
small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in sugar and 2 tablespoons flour
until well combined. Transfer to a stand mixer bowl, and add remaining flour,
oil or butter, 3 whole eggs and 1 egg white (reserving remaining egg yolk to
brush on the bread before baking), and salt. Knead until smooth and pliable. If
dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon warm water at a time until desired
consistency is met. Likewise, if dough is too wet, add 1 tablespoon flour at a
time until deisred consistency is met.
2.
Divide
dough into 7 equal-size balls. Place 1 ball in the center of a greased 12-inch
baking tray like a pizza pan without a lip. Cover with greased plastic wrap
while you roll each of the other balls into 10-inch circles and, using a pizza
cutter, cut into 8 triangular pieces.
3.
Lightly
brush the top of each triangular piece with oil or melted butter. Stack three
pieces on top of each other. Twist to form a cone. Repeat with remaining dough.
You will have 16 "cones." Arrange these around the center ball of
dough with the wide side of the cone facing out. Cover and let rise until almost doubled. Heat oven to 375
degrees.
4.
Slash
an "X" in middle ball of risen dough. Brush bread all over with
remaining beaten egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water. Bake about 15 minutes
and cover top loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake an additional 15
minutes or until instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees when inserted
in the thickest part of the dough. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pull off "cones" for individual servings.
Epiphany (holiday)
Epiphany / Epiphany / is the third most important Christian holiday of the year. According to biblical legend, on this day Jesus Christ was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. At the moment of baptism the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus as a dove from heaven and spread a voice: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!" Hence the name of the holiday - Epiphany.
Meatless dishes are eaten. We can add walnuts, wheat and candle from the previous Christmas dinner. Ritual meal includes fresh bread, ring-leaves with cabbage, stuffed peppers, cabbage, beans, nuts and wine. Jordan is considered the last of the so-called period. dirty days. Before the holiday is the third and final Christmas dinner.
On the table again there is a ritual bread, but this time it is not made of pure wheat flour but it is mixed with millet flour in honor of millet.
Meatless dishes are eaten. We can add walnuts, wheat and candle from the previous Christmas dinner. Ritual meal includes fresh bread, ring-leaves with cabbage, stuffed peppers, cabbage, beans, nuts and wine. Jordan is considered the last of the so-called period. dirty days. Before the holiday is the third and final Christmas dinner.
On the table again there is a ritual bread, but this time it is not made of pure wheat flour but it is mixed with millet flour in honor of millet.
New Year’s Eve
Every year in millions of homes over the world families organize the new year’s dishes. In Bulgaria with the approach of the New Year Eve, feverish preparations for it begins. On New Year’s Eve , the whole family is gathered around the table, glad to be together, sharing the emotions of the past year and make plans for the future. There is a saying that the more joy and good mood there is on New Year's Eve, the happier you will be in the new year. To receive more money and luck in your home, the dishes should be prepared manuscript and from large team. It is best if the whole family is involved. Traditionally in Bulgaria New Year - celebration that begins on the last day of the old and ends in the early hours of the next calendar year, the table should be covered with a variety of dishes.
The plastic cake decoration ornaments for the New Year’s bread repeat the ones which are placed on the bread for Christmas Eve. Images of fruits, birds, flowers and thesign of the cross has always been produced by the oldest woman in the family, or any of the younger wives, came from family, famous for "writing" of bread. Not surprisingly, people used to call this activity "writing." With small pieces of dough "writing" on bread wishes for health, fertility and good fortune, which they hoped would bring them the new year.
The fortune pie is made differently depending on which part of Bulgaria it is from. The usual filling is cheese, eggs, butter. In some parts it is made with different types of meat. The hostess had prepared it in early morning. There are pieces for all the family, even for those who for some reason will not attend the celebration. The pieces have written fortunes in them desirable for different things - health, prosperity, love, work, marriage. The fortune pie is cut in the early hors of the new eve. The tray with the pie is turned three times by the oldest in the family and everybody takes the piece in front of him. This practice has existed since forever.
The traditional feast is rich and luscious- cooked pork with sauerkraut, steak, roast turkey, stuffed with giblets, rice and spices. It is important to have a variety of holiday meals, wine, brandy, juicesand sweetened drinks. New Year’s gifts are evchanged. Everyone strives to give something to their loved ones.
The plastic cake decoration ornaments for the New Year’s bread repeat the ones which are placed on the bread for Christmas Eve. Images of fruits, birds, flowers and thesign of the cross has always been produced by the oldest woman in the family, or any of the younger wives, came from family, famous for "writing" of bread. Not surprisingly, people used to call this activity "writing." With small pieces of dough "writing" on bread wishes for health, fertility and good fortune, which they hoped would bring them the new year.
The fortune pie is made differently depending on which part of Bulgaria it is from. The usual filling is cheese, eggs, butter. In some parts it is made with different types of meat. The hostess had prepared it in early morning. There are pieces for all the family, even for those who for some reason will not attend the celebration. The pieces have written fortunes in them desirable for different things - health, prosperity, love, work, marriage. The fortune pie is cut in the early hors of the new eve. The tray with the pie is turned three times by the oldest in the family and everybody takes the piece in front of him. This practice has existed since forever.
The traditional feast is rich and luscious- cooked pork with sauerkraut, steak, roast turkey, stuffed with giblets, rice and spices. It is important to have a variety of holiday meals, wine, brandy, juicesand sweetened drinks. New Year’s gifts are evchanged. Everyone strives to give something to their loved ones.
Sirni
Zagovezni
Sirni Zagowezni is a custom disseminated in Bulgaria. It is called in different
ways – Sirnitsa, Sirni pokladi, Proshka (Forgiveness). The holiday is movable
and it is celebrated on the Sunday that is seven weeks before Easter and one
week after Mesni Zagovezni.
Sirni Zagovezni is connected with forgiveness. The tradition is that younger
people ask for forgiveness the elder ones. They kiss their parents’ hand and
say “Forgive me, mother, father…” The parents’ answer is “It’s forgiven. God
forgives.”
There are milk products on the table that day and also eggs, fish, banitsa with sirene (cheese), ceremonial bread, and white halva. This is the last day when is permitted eating of milk products.
There are milk products on the table that day and also eggs, fish, banitsa with sirene (cheese), ceremonial bread, and white halva. This is the last day when is permitted eating of milk products.
The same night after dinner there is a ritual. It’s
called Hamkane. On a long thread is tied an egg or a piece halva. The children
have to try to catch it with mouth without touching it with hands. It is
believed that if you touch it with your teeth, you would be healthy through the
year.
Valentine’s
Day
Valentine's Day is a Christian holiday that is celebrated on February the 14th. On that date, people express their love for each other by sending greeting cards, candies and chocolates in a red or pink heart-shaped shiny package.
Trifon
Zarezan
Trifon's Day (or Day of the grower) is a Bulgarian folk festival in honor of Saint Tryphon. It is celebrated by wine growers, falconers, tavern-keepers and gardeners on February the 14th.
Early in the morning bread is prepared. This requires only one kilogram of flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Flour is sifted, to extract only the purest of it. Then salt is puts on it and 2 cups lukewarm water are added Dough is kneaded until it begins to form pores. Then the bread is baked in a well preheated oven. Once the bread is ready, it is covered with a cotton cloth to be prevented from drying.
Chicken is also cooked and is traditionally filled with rice. A whole chicken is boiled, then roasted. The bread, the chicken and wine vessel are put in a new woolen bag. Men go to the vineyard with such bags. They make the sign of the cross over themselves, and each one of them cuts three sticks. Then they make the sign of the cross over themselves again and pour the wine they have brought on the ground. This ritual is called 'trimming'. Then everybody gathers' and they choose “The king of the wines”.
After that ritual the feast begins.
SPRING HOLIDAYS
Sirni Zagovezni
Sirni
Zagovezni is celebrated seven weeks before Easter and always on Sunday.
It marks the beginning of the longest period of fasting. On that day
people beg each other forgiveness for their wrong-doings during the
year. Usually the younger ask the elder for forgiveness and are also
asked to forgive on the part of their parents, relatives, friends or
just the people they live or work with. In the past a special custom was
being performed in the evening. A piece of halva was tied on a long
thread, hanging from the ceiling (a hard-boiled egg or some coal is an
alternative). The thread is swayed around in a circle and the
participants keep on trying to catch the lump in their mouth. The
Bulgarian villages have preserved the "Kukeri" ritual, in which the
masked Kukeri dance in the last days of the winter, just before nature
is reborn. The participants in this ritual are only men, dressed in
sheepskin garments and wearing scary masks and copper bells attached to
their belts, dancing and singing songs, and chants, with the intention
to scare away the evil spirits or ghosts which people believed came back
to the living ones in winter.
Todorovden
Todorovden
is also named Horse Easter. Legends say that on this day the Saint wore
nine mantles and went to God to ask for summer. On this day horse races
are held. On the winning horse a wreath is being put. On this day a lot
of people have name days: Todor, Teodor(a), Bojidar(a), Todor(k)a,
Darina. The festival has no fixed date. It is celebrated on the first
Saturday of the Easter fast. The old custom says that on this day we
should eat wheat and ritual cakes and breads called “hoof” and “horse”.
In Bulgarian cuisine there are various options for eating wheat: with
nuts, dried fruits, sweets
Baba Marta Day
Baba
Marta Day is a holiday celebrated in Bulgaria, on the first of March.
“Baba” is the Bulgarian word for "grandmother" and “Mart” is the
Bulgarian word for the month of March. Baba Marta is a tradition related
to welcoming the upcoming spring. The month of March, according to the
Bulgarian folklore, marks the beginning of springtime. Therefore, the
first day of March is a traditional holiday associated with sending off
winter and welcoming spring. On this day martenitsi are exchanged in
anticipation of spring, and worn pinned on the clothing or tied on the
wrist. Martenitsi are red-and-white talismans that provide protection
from the power of evil usually made of yarn, in the form of bracelets or
of little male and female dolls known as Pizho and Penda. The white
color of the martenitsa initially symbolized the man, the strength and
the light solar zone. The red color in the martenitsa represents the
woman and the health, it is also a sign of the blood, conception and
birth. They are given between friends and family members, or even given
to someone as a way of saying you want to get to know them better. You
never make or buy a martenitsa for yourself, it has to be gifted.
Martenitsi are worn until the first sighting of a stork (a harbinger of
spring) or, more commonly nowadays, a budding tree. Then the martenitsa
is attached to the branches.
The Annunciation
In
Bulgaria, Annunciation is called Blagoveshtenie which means “delivery
of the good news”. It is celebrated on March 25th. On this day archangel
Gabriel told Virgin Mary that she would conceive and give birth to the
Son of God. In the Bulgarian tradition Blagovets is related to the
arrival of the migratory birds and the spring awakening of nature.
Bulgarians believed this was the day when the cuckoo would sing for the
first time in the year. Depending on what they were doing when they
heard the bird sing, and depending on how it sounded, they would make
different predictions about their lives and well-being in accordance
with a rather complicated set of legends. One of the legends advises
everyone to leave their house full and with money in their pockets in
case they hear the cuckoo sing so that they would be the same way all
year long. It is also believed that it is a bad omen to see a stork that
is not flying, but laying or walking. On Blagovets, they also used to
pierce young girls’ ears. Bulgarians also clean their homes. The holiday
meal includes baked or boiled fish. The Blagovets holiday has another
even more magical and secret meaning. This is the day when the woodland
fairies called samodivi in Bulgaria, reappear in the rivers and lakes
after they have spent the winter somewhere far away. The fairies are
very secretive and dangerous because they could kidnap anyone who
encroaches upon their territory, and take them into another world.
Another folklore belief is that this is the day when all snakes and
lizards wake up and crawl out.
Lazarov
Day
Lazarov
Day is a Christian holiday named after Saint Lazar. The name Lazar is a
symbol of health and longevity. Lazarov Day is celebrated on the eighth
day before Easter. Therefore Lazarov Day is on different day every
year, but always on Saturday. There is a tradition on this day, named
Lazaruvane. Early in the morning a group of young girls (Lazarki)
gathers to choose their leader and sing a special song for her. Then
they go around the village, visiting from house to house singing their
ritual songs. One of them carries an egg-basket to collect the eggs
which the people give them as a present for their visit. On Saturday
afternoon and on Sunday before noon the girls go around the village,
entering each house and singing ritual songs, different for each of the
family members. On Sunday the elder girls go to the centre of the
village, to sing their songs and dance the horo (a circle village
dance).
This holiday is eagerly expected not only by the young girls,
but by all the inhabitants of the village or town. It was believed that
a girl, who has not been Lazarka can not get married. That is why it
was compulsory.
Recipe
Lazarov Day pitka
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoons salt
1 kg of flour
2 cups water
Preparation:
The yeast is diluted in a little warm
water. Add salt, flour and water and knead the dough. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
Place in a baking dish, seasoning with oil and flour, and bake in oven at 200
C.
Easter
Easter
is one of the most significant holidays in the Bulgarian calendar.
Starting with Palm Sunday, the holy week leads up to Easter. In our
country, the festival is popularly known as "Velikden"( Great Day),
which literally means 'the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ'.
There are several significant days throughout Easter.
Palm Sunday
Also
known as Tsvetnitsa or Vrubnitsa (Flower day).Vrubnitsa marks the start
of Holy Week. It is allowed for the faithful to eat fish. Since palms
aren't readily available, pussy willows are taken to church to be
blessed. In villages where such observances remain possible, the day is
traditionally celebrated with young girls weaving crowns from willow
branches, which they throw into a stream, where further down boys are
waiting.
Holy Thursday
Easter eggs are dyed on Holy
Thursday or Holy Saturday. The first red egg dyed on Holy Thursday is a
symbol of health and good fortune for the family and is set aside to be
kept until next Easter.
Great Friday/Holy Friday/Easter Friday
Good
Friday is the anniversary of the Crucifixion, and the day when a table
is set up in churches representing Christ's coffin. The faithful climb
underneath it in the hopes of having a year full of health and
fertility.
Holy Saturday
An hour before midnight on
Saturday, all churches begin the Easter liturgy. Families and friends go
together to church, carrying the coloured eggs with them. When the
clock strikes midnight, they greet each other with the words "Hristos
vozkrese" ("Christ has resurrected"). The answer is "Voistina vozkrese"
("He has resurrected indeed"). The priest and the people then walk
around the church three times with lit candles in hand. The belief is
the following- if one has been a good Christian, his candle will not go
out no matter how strong the wind might be, because he has no sins.
After services are over, "egg fight" takes place. Opponents smash their
eggs into each other with the egg left unbroken proclaimed the winner or
“borak”(fighter). The winning egg is kept up until next Easter and is a
sign of good luck. On Sunday, because fast is over, the tradition is to
have a table laden with food, the most important of which is lamb. The
braided kozunak is also a very important part of the Easter table.
Recipe
Kozunak Ingredients:
1 kg flour
2 ½ tablespoons of yeast
200 ml warmed milk
2 cups of sugar
½ cup of vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 cup or raisins
2 tablespoons of rum
1 cup of walnuts
1 lemon
½ cup of butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
How to make it:
Mix
yeast, warm milk, 1tsp of sugar, some tsp of flour in a large bowl.
Cover and leave in a leave in a warm place for 30 min. Put raisins in
rum to cover and set aside to soak. Grate and juice the lemons. Set
aside. Sift the rest of the flour onto a large bowl. Melt butter and
combine with oil. Heat 2 cups of milk and sugar on low in a small
saucepan until warm. Set aside one yolk from eggs, the rest beat. Add a
handful of the flour from the bowl to the warm yeast mixture. Bit by
bit, mix in with a spoon the rest of the flour, the milk mixture, the beaten
eggs and the butter/oil mixture. When most of it is together, mix in
the lemon juice and zest, and the vanilla. Adding more flour to the work
surface if necessary, dump out the dough and knead until it holds
together well. Let the dough rest in a warm place until double in bulk
(1-2 hours). You may need to divide between two bowls. Punch down and
knead the dough. Drain the raisins and dredge in flour. Let the dough
sit and rise again (another 1-2 hours). Punch down and knead again.
Divide the dough into 8 parts. Each of these, divide into three parts;
roll them long and braid into a single loaf. Brush the loaves with the
reserved egg yolk and stud the top with nuts. Preheat oven to 180°C .
Bake the loaves about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Zelena Salata(Green Salad)
Ingredients:
One head of lettuce, washed, drained and and cut into thin pieces.
A bunch of radishes, sliced as thin as possible.
One medium sized cucumber, sliced into thin pieces.
3 boiled eggs.
½ bunch of spring onions ( scallion), green part only, chopped
2 table spoons of vinegar
20 ml of sunflower oil
Salt to taste
How to make it:
Wash,
drain and cut lettuce into thin strips. Slice the cucumber, radishes
and eggs as thin as possible. Chop the green parts of spring onions. In a
large bowl mix all the ingredients together, add the vinegar and the
sunflower oil, and add salt to taste.
This salad is very suitable at Easter, because there are plenty of dried boiled eggs, needed to this salad.
Saint
George’s Day
Bulgaria
celebrates Friday, May 6, the Day of Saint George the Victorious and
the Day of the Bulgarian Army. It was officially pronounced as the Day
of the Bulgarian Army with a decree of Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria on 9
January 1880. Parades are organized in the capital Sofia to present the
best of the army's equipment and manpower. Saint George the Victorious,
canonized by the Church because of his brave deeds, is usually painted
on icons as riding a white horse with his lance stabbed in the throat of
a beast - the dragon. Legend has it that the dragon used to attack the
shepherds and their sheep and steal a sheep or a lamb. The shepherds
were desperate. Then St. George appeared and killed the dragon. In
Bulgaria St. George is the patron of spring verdure and fertility, and
of shepherds and farmers. His Day, May 6, is believed to set in summer
and the new farming cycle. A common ritual is to cook and eat a whole
lamb, which is an ancient practice the fact that St. George is the
patron saint of shepherds. Special place on the table is attributed to
the ritual Gergyovden bread. All sorts of bread are made for the feast -
the cross bread, the shepherd's bread, the large ring-bread, as well as
small ones, or the special ring-shaped bun baked by the young wife in
the house.
Recipes
Stuffed Lamb
Ingredients:
10kg lamb
1kg potatoes
200gr butter
300gr rice
1-2 onion
2 boiled eggs
½ glass cup milk
Black pepper
Parsley
Mint
Salt
Way of cooking:
1st stage: Chop the onion and sauté. Next add pre-boiled and chopped giblets, rice and black pepper
2nd
stage: The mixture is salt, poured with milk and the broth, in which
giblets were boiling, after that boil until the rice is semi-cooked.
3rd stage: Next add the chopped eggs, parsley and mint. Stuff the lamb with the mixture, stitch the hole.
4th stage: Stuffed lamb is smeared with butter and pepper, it’s baked in hot oven.
5th stage: Around the lamb arrange with potatoes to be baked for 20 minutes or more.
Drob Same
Ingredients:
2 onions
2 cups rice
2 cups lamb giblets, boiled and chopped
Red pepper
Mint
Parsley
Oil
Broth
Preparation:
2 eggs
Yoghurt Flour
Way of cooking:
1st stage: The onion is stewed, add to the rice and giblets and stir.
2nd stage: Next add red pepper, mint and parsley and the hot broth. After that bake in the oven.
3rd stage: Last thick with dressing and cook until browned.
Summer in Bulgaria
Food, Traditions and Festivals
If
you get the chance to spend a summer in Bulgaria, you can enjoy many
festivals filled with diverse customs and delicious traditional
Bulgarian food.
Summer festivals have quite interesting and diverse
traditions. But there are also similarities between the holidays. In
almost every single Christian feast we bring bread in the church. Fruits
are also an integral part of the table according to the traditions for
fertility and the season.
Now we'll present you some festivals during each month of the season:
June:
“Eniovden” Saint Enio's Day /Midsummer Day
June 24th
This is the first summer feast in Bulgaria.
In the traditions of many people, the changeover from spring to summer is a
moment related to special ritual activities. For centuries now, Bulgaria has
preserved a similar ritual known as Enio's Day, or Midsummer Day. It is
celebrated on June 24 and one of its highlights are special songs sung on this day.
This ancient Bulgarian ritual is considered the turning point in the
mythological calendar of the ancient people – a ritual connected to the summer
Equinox, when the day is longest and the night is shortest. Enyovden / Enyo’s
Day is a favourite summer holiday for young and old. It practically divides the
year into two.
It is believed that after that feast, winter sets on its long way to the
people. The story of how Enyo put on his fur coat and went to search for snow
reminds that it is time to think about the long cold months.
People get up early on this day to see how the sun “turns three
times” and whoever manages to "bathe" in the dew will be safe from
illnesses until next Midsummer Day.
Midsummer Day or Eniovden in Bulgarian was a holiday
for everybody, but it was highly revered by clairvoyants, healers and
magicians, people who used herbs for their job and were chosen to communicate
with yonder worlds and supernatural beings and forces. Midsummer Day was the
day when the distance between the upper and the lower world was eliminated.
Even today we are aware that herbs picked on Midsummer Day are charged with
enormous curing powers.
The cult for the Sun is also related to ritual tours
of the farming land with a lot of singing. Apart from health, St. Enio, also
called Ianio, Ivan Herb-picker can bring over a good news for a rich harvest
and happy living.
At the night of the dying and the newly-born sun the grass and the
herbs have the biggest healing power which is lost with the sunrise.
That is why on that day early in the morning lasses and women,
fortune-tellers, sorceress and witches pick herbs that they use for
healing and magic during the whole year.
At
the night before Eniovden water has magic power, too. According to the
belief, on this day the water in the rivers and the wells is healing
because the sun bathed in it. In Western Bulgaria they believe in the
healing power of the dew on Eniovden. At that night the roaming
magicians, naked and sitting on a yarn-beam, wander other people's
fields and while casting spells they put the dew in their aprons to drop
it later over their fields.
Before
the holiday every landlord harvests a few еаrs of corn so that the
roamers find it picked. On the holiday young women go to the fields to
harvest a wisp, they braid a tress from the corn and put it and the wisp
on a cross which is done for fertility.
On
Eniovden they make predictions about health, marriage and fertility.
There are some rituals like Eniova Bulia and Laduvane which were
performed by young girls. Enio's Bulia was a little girl aged between 3
and 5. It was dressed as a bride and villagers were taking it around the
village wells. After a ritual bathing in the river the little girl was
asked about the future crops. Her answers were interpreted as a prophecy
induced by God. One more ritual on Midsummer day was Laduvane -
fortune-telling by bunches of flowers.
Saint Peter’s Day
(29th of June)
Saint Peter’s Day is on 29th June and is one of the most celebrated
holidays in the summer. In the Eastern Orthodox Church Calendar this day
is devoted to the Saints Peter and Paul. Although the Eastern Orthodox
Church Calendar says that on June 29th Saints Peter and Paul’s Day is
celebrated, the Bulgarians celebrate it as Saint Peter’s Day and on
30th they celebrate Saint Paul’s Day.
On this day people bring “Petrovski” breads and “Petrovki”
apples in the church. There the food is blessed and then is given to the
neighbors.
July:
Ilinden (20th
July)
On 20th July, Ilinden, Bulgarians celebrate the day of
St. Iliya. There are superstitions which say that on this day the sea takes
most victims as a sacrifice to St. Iliya. The tradition says that on this day
people shouldn’t work because they will make St. Iliya angry. To relent him
they make offerings and big feasts.
Goreshtnitsi (28th, 29th and 30th July)
Goreshtnitsa
(hot day) – this Bulgarian holiday is a period of three successive days at the
end of July (28, 29 and 30 July). It is celebrated in honor of the fire
primarily to prevent fire.
The belief
that fire descends from heaven by itself ( usually in the form of
lightning, determines the local names and Blyasatsi Germanovtsi (since it is
believed that St. Germanus is a master of thunder).
In the old days ,in
the evening of the first day people used to extinguish the fire in all
outbreaks in the village. On the second day there are no lights and fires in
all of the people’s houses. Finally, on the third day all people light a new
fire (live fire, the fire of God) and everyone takes the renewed fire to their
fireplaces.
August
Assumption (15th August)
Assumption
is one of the most important Christian holidays. Bulgarian
Orthodox Church celebrates the feast on August 15. According to
the legend, this is the day when Virgin Mary leaves the world and
goes to her son.In memory of her appearance before the
apostles, the church proclaimed that
day of observance
and to celebrate with
liturgy and makes "exaltation of bread." Traditional dishes on the
table are fresh bread decorated with ornaments, chicken mess, boiled wheat, corn and pumpkin.
Now you're going to find out the
secret in making the typical meals for these holidays:
Chicken mess
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1. 300-400g white chicken meat
2. 3 tablespoons flour
3. 2-3 cloves of garlic
4. black pepper
5. 1 cup of milk
6. salt
7. fat
8. parsley
9. water
Preparation:
Boil
white chicken meat. Tear lengthwise and
cut it into pieces. Heat up 50 ml fat in
a deep skillet or saucepan and fry the flour until golden. Mix it carefully and
add water. After that add the meat and spices. Allow to boil while stirring - about
5-10 minutes. Served hot, sprinkled with
parsley.
Boiled wheat with walnuts and biscuits
Ingredients:
- 500g wheat
- 150g crushed biscuits
- 150g chopped walnuts
- 150g raisins
- 150g powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon peel
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation:
Wash the
wheat. Boil it in water until the wheat burst. Drain it. Add biscuits, raisins,
lemon peel and cinnamon. Serve, sprinkled with chopped walnuts and powdered
sugar.
Baked pumpkin
Ingredients:
- 800g pumpkin
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 50g walnuts
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Preparation:
Clean the pumpkin from the peel and seeds and cut into large cubes. Put
it in a baking dish and pour it with water so that the liquid covers the
bottom. Sprinkle the pumpkin with honey, cinnamon and walnuts. Bake it at high
temperature. Serve immediately.
Traditional Bulgarian Bread
Ingredients:
- 30g
of Yeast
- 2 eggs
- 800grams of flour
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 500 grams of milk
- 2 tablespoons of oil
Steps:
- 1 big table spoon of yeast. If yeast is frozen, leave it for 10 minutes to
defrost. Put one tablespoon of sugar plus two or three table spoons of
flour and some water into the yeast until the mixture becomes thick. Leave it
aside for 15 minutes until the mixture has risen.
- In a separate bowl, put about 800 grams of flour. Make a hole
in the middle of the flour and put in a tablespoon of salt, a teaspoon of
sugar, 1 egg and two tablespoons of oil. Once mixed, add 500 grams of milk slowly and mix it
together with the flour mixture. The mixture must be thick but not
sticky. If sticky, add some more flour as necessary. Spare a small part of dough for the ornaments.
- Spread flour on the countertop. Take mixture from bowl and put
on floured surface and knead the dough. If it is still sticky, add flour
because the dough should not be sticky. When it is ready, roll it with a
rolling pin. When rolled out, spread oil over the surface of the dough.
- Next, you will need to roll up the dough. Roll it as if
you were going to make one long, giant cinnamon roll. Grease a pan with oil and put the bread in it.
- Leave the bread to sit for 2 hours to rise in a warm place.
The bread is ready to bake when it has risen to three times its size.
- While you wait for the bread to rise make ornaments with the leftover dough.
- When ready, whisk one egg yolk and spread on the top of the bread. Next, put the ornaments on top and bake at a
high temperature until it is ready.
Check on your bread every 5
minutes after the first 25 minutes.
Curious facts and superstitions:
If people do important farm work on 29th June (Saint Peter’s Day) the harvest will be poor.
If you do any house chores or land work on Goreshnitsi (15th, 16th, and 17th July) your house will burn out.
If there are thunders on 20t July (Ilinden) all the nuts (like walnuts and hazelnut) will be hollow and rotten.
On Seknovie (29th August) the dragons, wood-nymphs, mermaids and other
magical creatures go to their winter quarters around the world.
On Seknovie (20th August) eating red fruits and vegetables and drinking red wine is forbidden.
If a person is sick during the “Mermaids week” the mermaids have “killed” him.
On St Enio's Day all the herbs have greater medical properties.
Other typical foods during summer in Bulgaria
Summer
brings warm days, more time spent outside and an abundance of
fresh-grown produce from the garden. With the warmer weather, many
people prefer not to heat up their homes, so it is nice to prepare
simple, fresh meals using traditional summer foods to satisfy the whole
family.
Tarator is one of these traditional Bulgarian dishes. It is
prepared mainly in the summer months, because it has a cooling effect,
but many people prepare it all year long. There is almost no Bulgarian,
who will tell you that they do not like eating tarator. Regardless of
the season, you can taste tarator in every Bulgarian restaurant. In the
various parts of the country you can taste various recipes for making
tarator. In its essence, tarator is a cold soup, prepared from yoghurt,
cucumbers, walnuts, salt, vegetable oil and spices. If you are far from
Bulgaria and you want to taste again one of the traditional soups,
favorite to all Bulgarians, you can make it on your own, just for a few
minutes.
Ingredients:
The most important condition for
making a delicious tarator is the Bulgarian yoghurt (100 g). If you can not
supply yourself with it, you can use similar products, which are offered on the
market. You will
also need: 1 cucumber, 5 ml sunflower oil, 5 - 6
cloves of garlic, 25 g walnuts, dill and salt according to your preferences.
Recipe
1. Wash the cucumber and the dill and peel the garlic.
2. Slice the cucumber into cubs according to your preferences. You can also grate it.
3. Chop the garlic into fine cubes. You can also grate it or press it.
4. Fine chop the dill.
5. Put the sliced cucumber in a vessel. Add the garlic and the dill.
6. Add salt.
7. Add the yogurt.
8. Stir well until all products mix.
9. Dilute the obtained mix with water until you receive a dense substance.
10. Add some olive oil or sunflower oil and stir.11. Fine crush the walnuts.
12. Add the walnuts to the mixture
Peppers
with tomato sauce
In early
August, the streets are filled with aroma that raises the appetite of every
passing person - the aroma of roasted pepper. Peppers
with tomato sauce is a favorite dish for almost every Bulgarian and can eat in
unlimited quantities it every day. Variations of recipes with roasted peppers are
endless, and characteristic for that recipe is the fact that the products are
in the most natural form, use a small amount of fat, which makes it
particularly suitable for lovers of healthy eating. And with
a cold soup like gazpacho or tarator for example, peppers with tomato sauce
could be the perfect lunch in hot summer days.
Ingredients:
- 1
kg. pepper
- 1
kg. tomatoes
- 3-4
cloves of garlic
- ½
bunch of parsley
- 2-3
tablespoons of olive oil
Recipe:
The peppers:
Wash the
pepper and bake it. (Better on the grill.) After roasting the peppers , wrap
them in a plastic bag or put them in a
pot, which is sealed to allow peppers to soften. Peel the peppers. Cut each pepper lengthwise and salt inside.
The sauce:
First you
need to peel the tomatoes. Blend the peeled tomatoes with a blender or food processor, or just cut
into very small pieces. Once you blend the tomatoes, pour the mash into a saucepan and set it to
boil. Add finely
chopped garlic and ½ teaspoon sugar. Tomatoes are boiled to thicken the sauce. Once the sauce has thickened add the olive oil and
allow to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the finely chopped parsley, then mix well.
The
final step is to arrange the roasted pepper in a large deep bowl , and
then pour the tomato sauce. Add a cheese plate and the dish is ready to
serve!
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients (recipe makes 5 cups) :
• 2 cups
heavy whipping cream
• 2
cups half-and-half cream
• 3/4
cup white sugar
• 1
tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions :
1. In
a large bowl, combine the heavy cream and the half and half. Gradually whisk in
the sugar until blended.
2. Whisk
in the vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, until very cold, at least 3 hours or as
long as 3 days.
3. Whisk the mixture to blend and
pour into the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the
manufacturer's directions. Eat at once or transfer to a covered container and
freeze up to 8 hours.
AUTUMN HOLIDAYS
CONTENTS
1. Petkovden
· Lozovi sarmi
· Shkembe chorba
2. Dimitrovden
· Pumpkin rachel
· Plump pestil
3. Arhangelova
zadushnitsa
· Boiled wheat
4. Arhangelovden
· Bulgarian Guvech- Vegetable Casserole With Meat in a
Clay Pot
5. Andreevden
· Fasul
recipe(Beans)
PETKOVDEN
Petkovden
marks the ending of working on the fields- the last autumn sowing.
Until then all farmer works should be done, that is why people say „На
Петковден ралото да ти е под стрехата”.
If on Petkovden:
The sun
is shining, the tree leaves haven’t fallen, and the sheep are all
gathered in one place - the winter is going to be ruff.
This day is
also a celebration for the shepherds-on Petkov den they let the ram with
the sheep. After that the shepherd is given a gift-banica.
On
Petkovden we make ceremonial bred, the biggest – called saint Petka is layed on
the table on top of a man’s shirt,glass of wine and a small bowl of salt. The
house is then sprinkled with holy water and the family kneels before it three
times.After that the eldest woman takes the bread in her hands blesses everyone
and gives the pieces.
The most important meals we have to put on our table on Petkovden are:Gyvech with mutton meat, kurban
chorba, lozovi
sarmi, shkembe, meals with parsley, celebratory
bread.
Lozovi Sarmi
Ingredients
15-20
grape leaves
3 onions, chopped
2 cups white rice
1 teaspoon dried celery or oregano
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups water
Preparation
Steam the grape leaves. Fry the onion in the oil until brown, add the rice, paprika, celery, and oregano and add the water.
Boil until water is absorbed. Use the mixture to fill the leaves, shaping them like small bundles.
Put in a pot, fill with water so the bundles are fully submerged, boil for about 45 mins on 350 F.
Best when served with some yoghurt on top.
Shkembe Chorba
Ingredients
1 lb tripe (calf belly)
1 cup (sunflower) oil
2 cups fresh milk
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
dried hot chili pepper mix
Preparation
Boil
the tripe for about 30 mins, add oil, milk, black pepper and paprika
and boil for another 30 mins occasionally topping up the water. The more
you cook it, the better it will taste.
Combine some salt, garlic and vinegar in a separate cup, let it soak for about an hour.
Serve hot, garnish with the garlic and vinegar mixture and the hot chili peppers.
Suggestion: best with (or after a lot of) rakia or beer.
DIMITROVDEN
Who
is one of the most loved saints by the Bulgarians? That would be saint
Dimitur. A legend says: when he and his brother decided to set on fire
Sveta gora and its monasteries, they were thrown for 3 years on the
bottom of the sea, but their aunts saint Petka and Nedelq begged God to
set them free.
In folklore beliefs if saint Dimitur comes on his horse and from his beard falls snow –winter is coming.
The time between Dimitrovden and Nikulden people call it Poor man’s summer(siromashko lqto).
On
this day owners settle with the workers they had hired for
Gergiovden(shepherds and cotters),in some places this holiday is called
Razpust, and to the most careful cotters they give clothes and a lamb.
Dimitrovden
is filled with a lot prophecies to be fulfilled the following year:If
the moon is full – the bee hive too, with honey. On the night before
the holiday, shepherd throws a stick in the sheds. If in the morning the
sheep lay on top of it, it is believed that winter will be long and
ruff.
Typical
for this day are also celebratory prophesies according to the first
guest ever set foot in the house on Dimitrovden. If the guest is kind
and wealthy, the year will also be successful.
On the holiday table on Dimitrovden there must be kurban or guvech of
ram, chicken soup- from cock if the person celebrating is male and from
hen if it is a woman. On the table we should also put boiled corn,
pestil, pita with apples, vegetables, pumpkin, rachel.
Pumpkin rachel
Ingredients:
- 2 kg pumpkin
- 2 kg sugar
- 1 l water л
- 2 table spoon lemon acid
- 2 vanillas
Preparation:
The
pumpkin, cleaned and washed, is cut in cubes which are kept in lime
water(5l water and 150gr slack lime).After that take them out and wash
them very carefully. When you are ready put them in the boiling sauce
made from the sugar, dissolved in the water.The Rachel is boiled until
it thickens. A little bit before you take of the fire add the lemon and
the vanillas. You can enshrine it in jars from jam.
Plump pestil – dry fruit marmalade (recipe
from 1920)
Choose the
sweetest fruit. They are then left for 2-3 days to soften, after that time,
they are steamed, pealed and the stones are taken out
After that let it boil until they are halved.
The
stones
may not be taken out and the peel also may be left on the plump. The
mash is boiled until it thickens.Then it is taken off the oven, splashed
on a
board (sprinkled with flour) and is put in a low heated oven
After
a day, take it out and is kneaded again. Sprinkle the board with flour
and on top of it splash the mash on a layer 5mm thick and is put in a
low
heated oven.
After the oven is chilled take the mash
out and
spread
it with a wooden stick,so that the mash can settle, after that tamp it with
the stick and leave it to dry.
After it is dried out wind
it up like a homespun and is preserved
in dry place.
Before consummation dilute with heated water.
Arhangelova zadushnica
It is celebrated before Arhangelovden – because Saturday is said to be a day for the dead.
Arhangelova
zadushnica is also the day when we give our never ending appreciation
for the many soldiers who had given their lives for Bulgaria.
On
this holiday, just like on other zadushnici , it is made the so called
“table for everyone” (obshti trapezi). Called by the name Big
zadushnica, she is the last for the year, that is way on the “table for
everyone” in the cemetery people put 7 different meals(between which,
such that were favorite of the diseased ),to “hear” the blessings of
the dead.The first bite is put on the ground and the first sip of wine
is spilled .
Memorial
services are made and people give away, the so called razdavki (*).
They are mostly given to relatives, neighbors, or even total strangers.
*In the razdavka it is typical to see wine boiled wheat,
pitki,bread,meat,such as chicken,lamb, sweets, apples, keks, put you
can actually give what you prefer.The wheat is symbol of resurrection,
and the bread and wine- a memory to the sacrifice that Christ made for
us.
Boiled wheat
Ingredients:
- 500 gr wheat
- lemon’s peel
- 1 tea spoon crushed walnuts
- 2 table spoon bread crumbs
- 1 tea spoon
- 1 tea spoon powder sugar 1 sprinkle salt
Preparation:
The
cleaned wheat is washed and water is poured on top(6 tea cups).Add the
salt and boil until the water comes to the boil, while we stir carefully
from time to time..
After that we cover the pot with a blanket for 2-3 hours.
Pour the wheat on a cotton towel spreading it thin. Leave like that for an hour.
Pour
the wheat in a bigger receptacle. Add the grinded lemon peel crushed
walnuts and the bread crumbs. We stir and put in shallow plates.
Sprinkle powdered sugar and voila you have just made Boiled wheat.
Arhangelovden
This
holiday is one of the biggest in the Bulgarian calendar of pomenatelni
holidays and follows Arhangelova zadushnica, which is celebrated on the
first Saturday before Arhangelov den
To
honor the dead, people make the so called “obshti trapezi”,and a ram is
sacrificed in the honor of the saint garding the dead.
The
women prepare ceremonial bread called “rangelov hlqb” or “bogata pita”.
This bread, in the honor of the saint, is broken over the head of the
eldest man in the house, after that he spills wine on it and prays for
blessing with the words: “Свети Архангеле, свето Никола и вси светци,
помагайте ни, почитаме Ви и сечем колач, да се роди ръж до тавана!” .
Here
we have a widespread custom to give away wheat, and every person who
receives it takes it with both hands and says: “Колкото зърна, толкова
купи и здраве”.
The table on Arhangelov den, traditionally, must have
:guvech,fasul, apples and other season fruit, red wine and of course ceremonial
bread.
Bulgarian Guvech-
Vegetable Casserole With Meat in a Clay Pot
Ingredients:
1 lb frozen okra, cuts
1 lb frozen broccoli cuts
1 lb green peas
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 diced onions, medium size
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons dried mint
1/2 bunch chopped parsley
3/4 tablespoon salt
2 1/2 lbs peeled and cubed potatoes
2 1/2 lbs cubed pork loin
2 bell peppers, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed (optional)
Preparation:
1 Mix the first 10 ingredients in a large clay bowl.with lid.
2 Chop the other 4 ingredients into 1/4 inch cubes.
3 Mix all together in the clay bowl, cover and cook in a non preheated oven at 550 F for 1 hour.
4 Turn down the temperature to 350 and continue cooking for another hour.
5 This dish would serve 10 large portions. Serve sprinkled with parsley if you desire
ANDREEVDEN
Bulgarians
call this holiday “Endrei” or Bear day (Mechki den). According to
folklore beliefs, from this holiday on, the day starts to increase.
On
this holiday’s eve or in the early morning is when every housewife
makes boiled corn, fasul ,leshta or oat. That is to help seeds grow just
like they swell after being boiled. Everybody eats from these dishes as
well as the domestic animals. The women give away to their neighbors to
provoke the fertility of the year.
In the north parts of Bulgaria,
Andreevden is celebrated as a bear holiday, called Bearday. According to
an old legend once saint Anderei lived as a lonely hermit in the
mountain. There he worked on a small field, but a bear once ate his ox.
The angry farmer managed to catch the beast, harnessed it on the ox’s
place and the bear gave in under the power of his will. Since then he
rode the bear and cultivated the field with its help. That is why this
old man is believed to be the patron of bears, as their guardian.
Before
sunrise on Andreevden the eldest woman in the family takes a handful of
seeds and a slice of bread and throws them upwards in the chimney in
her house saying the words: “На ти, мецо, кукуруз, че да не ядеш суровия
и да не ядеш стоката и човеците!”
No household chores are done on this holiday.
Fasul recipe(Beans)
Ingredients:
- Fasul(Beans) 200gr;
- Cooking oil 50gr
- Onion 100gr
- Flour 25gr
- Carrots 2
- smashed tomatoes 15 gr
- red pepper
- salt
You
clean the beans, wash them and soak them into water for 8 hours. Then
take the water out and but the beans boiling with cold water on the
electric ring. After the beans had come to the boil throw out the water
wash them again and leave them boiling. After coming to the boil again
add salt and the cooking oil and simmer it until the beans soften. Later
add the carrots and onion. Sprinkle some savory. The meal should have
enough water so if it is needed you can add more. Now you can put the
tomatoes and the red pepper and just a few minutes after, you have
yourselves Fasul(Beans)!
Valentine’s Day
Valentine's Day is a Christian holiday that is celebrated on February the 14th. On that date, people express their love for each other by sending greeting cards, candies and chocolates in a red or pink heart-shaped shiny package.
Trifon Zarezan
Trifon's Day (or Day of the grower) is a Bulgarian folk festival in honor of Saint Tryphon. It is celebrated by wine growers, falconers, tavern-keepers and gardeners on February the 14th.
Early in the morning bread is prepared. This requires only one kilogram of flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Flour is sifted, to extract only the purest of it. Then salt is puts on it and 2 cups lukewarm water are added Dough is kneaded until it begins to form pores. Then the bread is baked in a well preheated oven. Once the bread is ready, it is covered with a cotton cloth to be prevented from drying.
Chicken is also cooked and is traditionally filled with rice. A whole chicken is boiled, then roasted. The bread, the chicken and wine vessel are put in a new woolen bag. Men go to the vineyard with such bags. They make the sign of the cross over themselves, and each one of them cuts three sticks. Then they make the sign of the cross over themselves again and pour the wine they have brought on the ground. This ritual is called 'trimming'. Then everybody gathers' and they choose “The king of the wines”.
After that ritual the feast begins.
Baba
Marta Day is a holiday celebrated in Bulgaria, on the first of March.
“Baba” is the Bulgarian word for "grandmother" and “Mart” is the
Bulgarian word for the month of March. Baba Marta is a tradition related
to welcoming the upcoming spring. The month of March, according to the
Bulgarian folklore, marks the beginning of springtime. Therefore, the
first day of March is a traditional holiday associated with sending off
winter and welcoming spring. On this day martenitsi are exchanged in
anticipation of spring, and worn pinned on the clothing or tied on the
wrist. Martenitsi are red-and-white talismans that provide protection
from the power of evil usually made of yarn, in the form of bracelets or
of little male and female dolls known as Pizho and Penda. The white
color of the martenitsa initially symbolized the man, the strength and
the light solar zone. The red color in the martenitsa represents the
woman and the health, it is also a sign of the blood, conception and
birth. They are given between friends and family members, or even given
to someone as a way of saying you want to get to know them better. You
never make or buy a martenitsa for yourself, it has to be gifted.
Martenitsi are worn until the first sighting of a stork (a harbinger of
spring) or, more commonly nowadays, a budding tree. Then the martenitsa
is attached to the branches.
In
Bulgaria, Annunciation is called Blagoveshtenie which means “delivery
of the good news”. It is celebrated on March 25th. On this day archangel
Gabriel told Virgin Mary that she would conceive and give birth to the
Son of God. In the Bulgarian tradition Blagovets is related to the
arrival of the migratory birds and the spring awakening of nature.
Bulgarians believed this was the day when the cuckoo would sing for the
first time in the year. Depending on what they were doing when they
heard the bird sing, and depending on how it sounded, they would make
different predictions about their lives and well-being in accordance
with a rather complicated set of legends. One of the legends advises
everyone to leave their house full and with money in their pockets in
case they hear the cuckoo sing so that they would be the same way all
year long. It is also believed that it is a bad omen to see a stork that
is not flying, but laying or walking. On Blagovets, they also used to
pierce young girls’ ears. Bulgarians also clean their homes. The holiday
meal includes baked or boiled fish. The Blagovets holiday has another
even more magical and secret meaning. This is the day when the woodland
fairies called samodivi in Bulgaria, reappear in the rivers and lakes
after they have spent the winter somewhere far away. The fairies are
very secretive and dangerous because they could kidnap anyone who
encroaches upon their territory, and take them into another world.
Another folklore belief is that this is the day when all snakes and
lizards wake up and crawl out.
Lazarov Day
Lazarov Day pitka
Easter
Easter
is one of the most significant holidays in the Bulgarian calendar.
Starting with Palm Sunday, the holy week leads up to Easter. In our
country, the festival is popularly known as "Velikden"( Great Day),
which literally means 'the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ'.
There are several significant days throughout Easter.
Ingredients:
One head of lettuce, washed, drained and and cut into thin pieces.
A bunch of radishes, sliced as thin as possible.
One medium sized cucumber, sliced into thin pieces.
3 boiled eggs.
½ bunch of spring onions ( scallion), green part only, chopped
2 table spoons of vinegar
20 ml of sunflower oil
Salt to taste
How to make it:
Wash, drain and cut lettuce into thin strips. Slice the cucumber, radishes and eggs as thin as possible. Chop the green parts of spring onions. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together, add the vinegar and the sunflower oil, and add salt to taste.
This salad is very suitable at Easter, because there are plenty of dried boiled eggs, needed to this salad.
Bulgaria
celebrates Friday, May 6, the Day of Saint George the Victorious and
the Day of the Bulgarian Army. It was officially pronounced as the Day
of the Bulgarian Army with a decree of Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria on 9
January 1880. Parades are organized in the capital Sofia to present the
best of the army's equipment and manpower. Saint George the Victorious,
canonized by the Church because of his brave deeds, is usually painted
on icons as riding a white horse with his lance stabbed in the throat of
a beast - the dragon. Legend has it that the dragon used to attack the
shepherds and their sheep and steal a sheep or a lamb. The shepherds
were desperate. Then St. George appeared and killed the dragon. In
Bulgaria St. George is the patron of spring verdure and fertility, and
of shepherds and farmers. His Day, May 6, is believed to set in summer
and the new farming cycle. A common ritual is to cook and eat a whole
lamb, which is an ancient practice the fact that St. George is the
patron saint of shepherds. Special place on the table is attributed to
the ritual Gergyovden bread. All sorts of bread are made for the feast -
the cross bread, the shepherd's bread, the large ring-bread, as well as
small ones, or the special ring-shaped bun baked by the young wife in
the house.
Recipes
Stuffed Lamb
Ingredients:
10kg lamb
1kg potatoes
200gr butter
300gr rice
1-2 onion
2 boiled eggs
½ glass cup milk
Black pepper
Parsley
Mint
Salt
Way of cooking:
1st stage: Chop the onion and sauté. Next add pre-boiled and chopped giblets, rice and black pepper
2nd stage: The mixture is salt, poured with milk and the broth, in which giblets were boiling, after that boil until the rice is semi-cooked.
3rd stage: Next add the chopped eggs, parsley and mint. Stuff the lamb with the mixture, stitch the hole.
4th stage: Stuffed lamb is smeared with butter and pepper, it’s baked in hot oven.
5th stage: Around the lamb arrange with potatoes to be baked for 20 minutes or more.
Drob Same
Ingredients:
2 onions
2 cups rice
2 cups lamb giblets, boiled and chopped
Red pepper
Mint
Parsley
Oil
Broth
Preparation:
2 eggs
Yoghurt Flour
Way of cooking:
1st stage: The onion is stewed, add to the rice and giblets and stir.
2nd stage: Next add red pepper, mint and parsley and the hot broth. After that bake in the oven.
3rd stage: Last thick with dressing and cook until browned.
Early in the morning bread is prepared. This requires only one kilogram of flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Flour is sifted, to extract only the purest of it. Then salt is puts on it and 2 cups lukewarm water are added Dough is kneaded until it begins to form pores. Then the bread is baked in a well preheated oven. Once the bread is ready, it is covered with a cotton cloth to be prevented from drying.
Chicken is also cooked and is traditionally filled with rice. A whole chicken is boiled, then roasted. The bread, the chicken and wine vessel are put in a new woolen bag. Men go to the vineyard with such bags. They make the sign of the cross over themselves, and each one of them cuts three sticks. Then they make the sign of the cross over themselves again and pour the wine they have brought on the ground. This ritual is called 'trimming'. Then everybody gathers' and they choose “The king of the wines”.
After that ritual the feast begins.
SPRING HOLIDAYS
Sirni Zagovezni
Sirni
Zagovezni is celebrated seven weeks before Easter and always on Sunday.
It marks the beginning of the longest period of fasting. On that day
people beg each other forgiveness for their wrong-doings during the
year. Usually the younger ask the elder for forgiveness and are also
asked to forgive on the part of their parents, relatives, friends or
just the people they live or work with. In the past a special custom was
being performed in the evening. A piece of halva was tied on a long
thread, hanging from the ceiling (a hard-boiled egg or some coal is an
alternative). The thread is swayed around in a circle and the
participants keep on trying to catch the lump in their mouth. The
Bulgarian villages have preserved the "Kukeri" ritual, in which the
masked Kukeri dance in the last days of the winter, just before nature
is reborn. The participants in this ritual are only men, dressed in
sheepskin garments and wearing scary masks and copper bells attached to
their belts, dancing and singing songs, and chants, with the intention
to scare away the evil spirits or ghosts which people believed came back
to the living ones in winter.
Todorovden
Todorovden
is also named Horse Easter. Legends say that on this day the Saint wore
nine mantles and went to God to ask for summer. On this day horse races
are held. On the winning horse a wreath is being put. On this day a lot
of people have name days: Todor, Teodor(a), Bojidar(a), Todor(k)a,
Darina. The festival has no fixed date. It is celebrated on the first
Saturday of the Easter fast. The old custom says that on this day we
should eat wheat and ritual cakes and breads called “hoof” and “horse”.
In Bulgarian cuisine there are various options for eating wheat: with
nuts, dried fruits, sweets
Baba Marta Day
The Annunciation
Lazarov Day
Lazarov
Day is a Christian holiday named after Saint Lazar. The name Lazar is a
symbol of health and longevity. Lazarov Day is celebrated on the eighth
day before Easter. Therefore Lazarov Day is on different day every
year, but always on Saturday. There is a tradition on this day, named
Lazaruvane. Early in the morning a group of young girls (Lazarki)
gathers to choose their leader and sing a special song for her. Then
they go around the village, visiting from house to house singing their
ritual songs. One of them carries an egg-basket to collect the eggs
which the people give them as a present for their visit. On Saturday
afternoon and on Sunday before noon the girls go around the village,
entering each house and singing ritual songs, different for each of the
family members. On Sunday the elder girls go to the centre of the
village, to sing their songs and dance the horo (a circle village
dance).
This holiday is eagerly expected not only by the young girls, but by all the inhabitants of the village or town. It was believed that a girl, who has not been Lazarka can not get married. That is why it was compulsory.
This holiday is eagerly expected not only by the young girls, but by all the inhabitants of the village or town. It was believed that a girl, who has not been Lazarka can not get married. That is why it was compulsory.
Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoons salt
1 kg of flour
2 cups water
Preparation:
The yeast is diluted in a little warm
water. Add salt, flour and water and knead the dough. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
Place in a baking dish, seasoning with oil and flour, and bake in oven at 200
C.
Easter
Palm Sunday
Also
known as Tsvetnitsa or Vrubnitsa (Flower day).Vrubnitsa marks the start
of Holy Week. It is allowed for the faithful to eat fish. Since palms
aren't readily available, pussy willows are taken to church to be
blessed. In villages where such observances remain possible, the day is
traditionally celebrated with young girls weaving crowns from willow
branches, which they throw into a stream, where further down boys are
waiting.
Holy Thursday
Easter eggs are dyed on Holy Thursday or Holy Saturday. The first red egg dyed on Holy Thursday is a symbol of health and good fortune for the family and is set aside to be kept until next Easter.
Great Friday/Holy Friday/Easter Friday
Good Friday is the anniversary of the Crucifixion, and the day when a table is set up in churches representing Christ's coffin. The faithful climb underneath it in the hopes of having a year full of health and fertility.
Holy Saturday
An hour before midnight on Saturday, all churches begin the Easter liturgy. Families and friends go together to church, carrying the coloured eggs with them. When the clock strikes midnight, they greet each other with the words "Hristos vozkrese" ("Christ has resurrected"). The answer is "Voistina vozkrese" ("He has resurrected indeed"). The priest and the people then walk around the church three times with lit candles in hand. The belief is the following- if one has been a good Christian, his candle will not go out no matter how strong the wind might be, because he has no sins. After services are over, "egg fight" takes place. Opponents smash their eggs into each other with the egg left unbroken proclaimed the winner or “borak”(fighter). The winning egg is kept up until next Easter and is a sign of good luck. On Sunday, because fast is over, the tradition is to have a table laden with food, the most important of which is lamb. The braided kozunak is also a very important part of the Easter table.
Holy Thursday
Easter eggs are dyed on Holy Thursday or Holy Saturday. The first red egg dyed on Holy Thursday is a symbol of health and good fortune for the family and is set aside to be kept until next Easter.
Great Friday/Holy Friday/Easter Friday
Good Friday is the anniversary of the Crucifixion, and the day when a table is set up in churches representing Christ's coffin. The faithful climb underneath it in the hopes of having a year full of health and fertility.
Holy Saturday
An hour before midnight on Saturday, all churches begin the Easter liturgy. Families and friends go together to church, carrying the coloured eggs with them. When the clock strikes midnight, they greet each other with the words "Hristos vozkrese" ("Christ has resurrected"). The answer is "Voistina vozkrese" ("He has resurrected indeed"). The priest and the people then walk around the church three times with lit candles in hand. The belief is the following- if one has been a good Christian, his candle will not go out no matter how strong the wind might be, because he has no sins. After services are over, "egg fight" takes place. Opponents smash their eggs into each other with the egg left unbroken proclaimed the winner or “borak”(fighter). The winning egg is kept up until next Easter and is a sign of good luck. On Sunday, because fast is over, the tradition is to have a table laden with food, the most important of which is lamb. The braided kozunak is also a very important part of the Easter table.
Recipe
Kozunak Ingredients:
1 kg flour
2 ½ tablespoons of yeast
200 ml warmed milk
2 cups of sugar
½ cup of vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 cup or raisins
2 tablespoons of rum
1 cup of walnuts
1 lemon
½ cup of butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
How to make it:
Zelena Salata(Green Salad)Kozunak Ingredients:
1 kg flour
2 ½ tablespoons of yeast
200 ml warmed milk
2 cups of sugar
½ cup of vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 cup or raisins
2 tablespoons of rum
1 cup of walnuts
1 lemon
½ cup of butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
How to make it:
Mix
yeast, warm milk, 1tsp of sugar, some tsp of flour in a large bowl.
Cover and leave in a leave in a warm place for 30 min. Put raisins in
rum to cover and set aside to soak. Grate and juice the lemons. Set
aside. Sift the rest of the flour onto a large bowl. Melt butter and
combine with oil. Heat 2 cups of milk and sugar on low in a small
saucepan until warm. Set aside one yolk from eggs, the rest beat. Add a
handful of the flour from the bowl to the warm yeast mixture. Bit by
bit, mix in with a spoon the rest of the flour, the milk mixture, the beaten
eggs and the butter/oil mixture. When most of it is together, mix in
the lemon juice and zest, and the vanilla. Adding more flour to the work
surface if necessary, dump out the dough and knead until it holds
together well. Let the dough rest in a warm place until double in bulk
(1-2 hours). You may need to divide between two bowls. Punch down and
knead the dough. Drain the raisins and dredge in flour. Let the dough
sit and rise again (another 1-2 hours). Punch down and knead again.
Divide the dough into 8 parts. Each of these, divide into three parts;
roll them long and braid into a single loaf. Brush the loaves with the
reserved egg yolk and stud the top with nuts. Preheat oven to 180°C .
Bake the loaves about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
One head of lettuce, washed, drained and and cut into thin pieces.
A bunch of radishes, sliced as thin as possible.
One medium sized cucumber, sliced into thin pieces.
3 boiled eggs.
½ bunch of spring onions ( scallion), green part only, chopped
2 table spoons of vinegar
20 ml of sunflower oil
Salt to taste
How to make it:
Wash, drain and cut lettuce into thin strips. Slice the cucumber, radishes and eggs as thin as possible. Chop the green parts of spring onions. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together, add the vinegar and the sunflower oil, and add salt to taste.
This salad is very suitable at Easter, because there are plenty of dried boiled eggs, needed to this salad.
Saint
George’s Day
Stuffed Lamb
10kg lamb
1kg potatoes
200gr butter
300gr rice
1-2 onion
2 boiled eggs
½ glass cup milk
Black pepper
Parsley
Mint
Salt
Way of cooking:
1st stage: Chop the onion and sauté. Next add pre-boiled and chopped giblets, rice and black pepper
2nd stage: The mixture is salt, poured with milk and the broth, in which giblets were boiling, after that boil until the rice is semi-cooked.
3rd stage: Next add the chopped eggs, parsley and mint. Stuff the lamb with the mixture, stitch the hole.
4th stage: Stuffed lamb is smeared with butter and pepper, it’s baked in hot oven.
5th stage: Around the lamb arrange with potatoes to be baked for 20 minutes or more.
Drob Same
Ingredients:
2 onions
2 cups lamb giblets, boiled and chopped
Red pepper
Mint
Parsley
Oil
Broth
Preparation:
2 eggs
Yoghurt Flour
Way of cooking:
1st stage: The onion is stewed, add to the rice and giblets and stir.
2nd stage: Next add red pepper, mint and parsley and the hot broth. After that bake in the oven.
3rd stage: Last thick with dressing and cook until browned.
Summer in Bulgaria
Food, Traditions and Festivals
Food, Traditions and Festivals
If
you get the chance to spend a summer in Bulgaria, you can enjoy many
festivals filled with diverse customs and delicious traditional
Bulgarian food.
Summer festivals have quite interesting and diverse traditions. But there are also similarities between the holidays. In almost every single Christian feast we bring bread in the church. Fruits are also an integral part of the table according to the traditions for fertility and the season.
Now we'll present you some festivals during each month of the season:
Summer festivals have quite interesting and diverse traditions. But there are also similarities between the holidays. In almost every single Christian feast we bring bread in the church. Fruits are also an integral part of the table according to the traditions for fertility and the season.
Now we'll present you some festivals during each month of the season:
June:
Saint Peter’s Day
(29th of June) Saint Peter’s Day is on 29th June and is one of the most celebrated holidays in the summer. In the Eastern Orthodox Church Calendar this day is devoted to the Saints Peter and Paul. Although the Eastern Orthodox Church Calendar says that on June 29th Saints Peter and Paul’s Day is celebrated, the Bulgarians celebrate it as Saint Peter’s Day and on 30th they celebrate Saint Paul’s Day.
On this day people bring “Petrovski” breads and “Petrovki” apples in the church. There the food is blessed and then is given to the neighbors.
Steps:
If people do important farm work on 29th June (Saint Peter’s Day) the harvest will be poor.
If you do any house chores or land work on Goreshnitsi (15th, 16th, and 17th July) your house will burn out.
If there are thunders on 20t July (Ilinden) all the nuts (like walnuts and hazelnut) will be hollow and rotten.
On Seknovie (29th August) the dragons, wood-nymphs, mermaids and other magical creatures go to their winter quarters around the world.
On Seknovie (20th August) eating red fruits and vegetables and drinking red wine is forbidden.
If a person is sick during the “Mermaids week” the mermaids have “killed” him.
On St Enio's Day all the herbs have greater medical properties.
also need: 1 cucumber, 5 ml sunflower oil, 5 - 6
cloves of garlic, 25 g walnuts, dill and salt according to your preferences.
Recipe
1. Wash the cucumber and the dill and peel the garlic.
2. Slice the cucumber into cubs according to your preferences. You can also grate it.
3. Chop the garlic into fine cubes. You can also grate it or press it.
4. Fine chop the dill.
5. Put the sliced cucumber in a vessel. Add the garlic and the dill.
6. Add salt.
7. Add the yogurt.
8. Stir well until all products mix.
9. Dilute the obtained mix with water until you receive a dense substance.
10. Add some olive oil or sunflower oil and stir.11. Fine crush the walnuts.
12. Add the walnuts to the mixture
Ingredients:
“Eniovden” Saint Enio's Day /Midsummer Day
June 24th
This is the first summer feast in Bulgaria.
In the traditions of many people, the changeover from spring to summer is a
moment related to special ritual activities. For centuries now, Bulgaria has
preserved a similar ritual known as Enio's Day, or Midsummer Day. It is
celebrated on June 24 and one of its highlights are special songs sung on this day.
This ancient Bulgarian ritual is considered the turning point in the
mythological calendar of the ancient people – a ritual connected to the summer
Equinox, when the day is longest and the night is shortest. Enyovden / Enyo’s
Day is a favourite summer holiday for young and old. It practically divides the
year into two.
It is believed that after that feast, winter sets on its long way to the
people. The story of how Enyo put on his fur coat and went to search for snow
reminds that it is time to think about the long cold months.
People get up early on this day to see how the sun “turns three times” and whoever manages to "bathe" in the dew will be safe from illnesses until next Midsummer Day.
Midsummer Day or Eniovden in Bulgarian was a holiday for everybody, but it was highly revered by clairvoyants, healers and magicians, people who used herbs for their job and were chosen to communicate with yonder worlds and supernatural beings and forces. Midsummer Day was the day when the distance between the upper and the lower world was eliminated. Even today we are aware that herbs picked on Midsummer Day are charged with enormous curing powers. The cult for the Sun is also related to ritual tours of the farming land with a lot of singing. Apart from health, St. Enio, also called Ianio, Ivan Herb-picker can bring over a good news for a rich harvest and happy living.
People get up early on this day to see how the sun “turns three times” and whoever manages to "bathe" in the dew will be safe from illnesses until next Midsummer Day.
Midsummer Day or Eniovden in Bulgarian was a holiday for everybody, but it was highly revered by clairvoyants, healers and magicians, people who used herbs for their job and were chosen to communicate with yonder worlds and supernatural beings and forces. Midsummer Day was the day when the distance between the upper and the lower world was eliminated. Even today we are aware that herbs picked on Midsummer Day are charged with enormous curing powers. The cult for the Sun is also related to ritual tours of the farming land with a lot of singing. Apart from health, St. Enio, also called Ianio, Ivan Herb-picker can bring over a good news for a rich harvest and happy living.
At the night of the dying and the newly-born sun the grass and the
herbs have the biggest healing power which is lost with the sunrise.
That is why on that day early in the morning lasses and women,
fortune-tellers, sorceress and witches pick herbs that they use for
healing and magic during the whole year.
At the night before Eniovden water has magic power, too. According to the belief, on this day the water in the rivers and the wells is healing because the sun bathed in it. In Western Bulgaria they believe in the healing power of the dew on Eniovden. At that night the roaming magicians, naked and sitting on a yarn-beam, wander other people's fields and while casting spells they put the dew in their aprons to drop it later over their fields.
Before the holiday every landlord harvests a few еаrs of corn so that the roamers find it picked. On the holiday young women go to the fields to harvest a wisp, they braid a tress from the corn and put it and the wisp on a cross which is done for fertility.
On Eniovden they make predictions about health, marriage and fertility. There are some rituals like Eniova Bulia and Laduvane which were performed by young girls. Enio's Bulia was a little girl aged between 3 and 5. It was dressed as a bride and villagers were taking it around the village wells. After a ritual bathing in the river the little girl was asked about the future crops. Her answers were interpreted as a prophecy induced by God. One more ritual on Midsummer day was Laduvane - fortune-telling by bunches of flowers.
At the night before Eniovden water has magic power, too. According to the belief, on this day the water in the rivers and the wells is healing because the sun bathed in it. In Western Bulgaria they believe in the healing power of the dew on Eniovden. At that night the roaming magicians, naked and sitting on a yarn-beam, wander other people's fields and while casting spells they put the dew in their aprons to drop it later over their fields.
Before the holiday every landlord harvests a few еаrs of corn so that the roamers find it picked. On the holiday young women go to the fields to harvest a wisp, they braid a tress from the corn and put it and the wisp on a cross which is done for fertility.
On Eniovden they make predictions about health, marriage and fertility. There are some rituals like Eniova Bulia and Laduvane which were performed by young girls. Enio's Bulia was a little girl aged between 3 and 5. It was dressed as a bride and villagers were taking it around the village wells. After a ritual bathing in the river the little girl was asked about the future crops. Her answers were interpreted as a prophecy induced by God. One more ritual on Midsummer day was Laduvane - fortune-telling by bunches of flowers.
Saint Peter’s Day (29th of June) Saint Peter’s Day is on 29th June and is one of the most celebrated holidays in the summer. In the Eastern Orthodox Church Calendar this day is devoted to the Saints Peter and Paul. Although the Eastern Orthodox Church Calendar says that on June 29th Saints Peter and Paul’s Day is celebrated, the Bulgarians celebrate it as Saint Peter’s Day and on 30th they celebrate Saint Paul’s Day.
On this day people bring “Petrovski” breads and “Petrovki” apples in the church. There the food is blessed and then is given to the neighbors.
July:
Ilinden (20th
July)
On 20th July, Ilinden, Bulgarians celebrate the day of
St. Iliya. There are superstitions which say that on this day the sea takes
most victims as a sacrifice to St. Iliya. The tradition says that on this day
people shouldn’t work because they will make St. Iliya angry. To relent him
they make offerings and big feasts.
Goreshtnitsi (28th, 29th and 30th July)
Goreshtnitsa
(hot day) – this Bulgarian holiday is a period of three successive days at the
end of July (28, 29 and 30 July). It is celebrated in honor of the fire
primarily to prevent fire.
The belief that fire descends from heaven by itself ( usually in the form of lightning, determines the local names and Blyasatsi Germanovtsi (since it is believed that St. Germanus is a master of thunder).
The belief that fire descends from heaven by itself ( usually in the form of lightning, determines the local names and Blyasatsi Germanovtsi (since it is believed that St. Germanus is a master of thunder).
In the old days ,in
the evening of the first day people used to extinguish the fire in all
outbreaks in the village. On the second day there are no lights and fires in
all of the people’s houses. Finally, on the third day all people light a new
fire (live fire, the fire of God) and everyone takes the renewed fire to their
fireplaces.
August
Assumption (15th August)
Assumption (15th August)
Assumption
is one of the most important Christian holidays. Bulgarian
Orthodox Church celebrates the feast on August 15. According to
the legend, this is the day when Virgin Mary leaves the world and
goes to her son.In memory of her appearance before the
apostles, the church proclaimed that
day of observance
and to celebrate with
liturgy and makes "exaltation of bread." Traditional dishes on the
table are fresh bread decorated with ornaments, chicken mess, boiled wheat, corn and pumpkin.
Now you're going to find out the
secret in making the typical meals for these holidays:
Chicken mess
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1. 300-400g white chicken meat
2. 3 tablespoons flour
3. 2-3 cloves of garlic
4. black pepper
5. 1 cup of milk
6. salt
7. fat
8. parsley
9. water
2. 3 tablespoons flour
3. 2-3 cloves of garlic
4. black pepper
5. 1 cup of milk
6. salt
7. fat
8. parsley
9. water
Preparation:
Boil
white chicken meat. Tear lengthwise and
cut it into pieces. Heat up 50 ml fat in
a deep skillet or saucepan and fry the flour until golden. Mix it carefully and
add water. After that add the meat and spices. Allow to boil while stirring - about
5-10 minutes. Served hot, sprinkled with
parsley.
Boiled wheat with walnuts and biscuits
Ingredients:
- 500g wheat
- 150g crushed biscuits
- 150g chopped walnuts
- 150g raisins
- 150g powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon peel
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation:
Wash the
wheat. Boil it in water until the wheat burst. Drain it. Add biscuits, raisins,
lemon peel and cinnamon. Serve, sprinkled with chopped walnuts and powdered
sugar.
Baked pumpkin
Ingredients:
- 800g pumpkin
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 50g walnuts
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Preparation:
Clean the pumpkin from the peel and seeds and cut into large cubes. Put
it in a baking dish and pour it with water so that the liquid covers the
bottom. Sprinkle the pumpkin with honey, cinnamon and walnuts. Bake it at high
temperature. Serve immediately.
Traditional Bulgarian Bread
Ingredients:- 30g of Yeast
- 2 eggs
- 800grams of flour
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 500 grams of milk
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 1 big table spoon of yeast. If yeast is frozen, leave it for 10 minutes to
defrost. Put one tablespoon of sugar plus two or three table spoons of
flour and some water into the yeast until the mixture becomes thick. Leave it
aside for 15 minutes until the mixture has risen.
- In a separate bowl, put about 800 grams of flour. Make a hole
in the middle of the flour and put in a tablespoon of salt, a teaspoon of
sugar, 1 egg and two tablespoons of oil. Once mixed, add 500 grams of milk slowly and mix it
together with the flour mixture. The mixture must be thick but not
sticky. If sticky, add some more flour as necessary. Spare a small part of dough for the ornaments.
- Spread flour on the countertop. Take mixture from bowl and put
on floured surface and knead the dough. If it is still sticky, add flour
because the dough should not be sticky. When it is ready, roll it with a
rolling pin. When rolled out, spread oil over the surface of the dough.
- Next, you will need to roll up the dough. Roll it as if you were going to make one long, giant cinnamon roll. Grease a pan with oil and put the bread in it.
- Next, you will need to roll up the dough. Roll it as if you were going to make one long, giant cinnamon roll. Grease a pan with oil and put the bread in it.
- Leave the bread to sit for 2 hours to rise in a warm place.
The bread is ready to bake when it has risen to three times its size.
- While you wait for the bread to rise make ornaments with the leftover dough.
- While you wait for the bread to rise make ornaments with the leftover dough.
- When ready, whisk one egg yolk and spread on the top of the bread. Next, put the ornaments on top and bake at a
high temperature until it is ready.
Check on your bread every 5 minutes after the first 25 minutes.
Curious facts and superstitions:Check on your bread every 5 minutes after the first 25 minutes.
If people do important farm work on 29th June (Saint Peter’s Day) the harvest will be poor.
If you do any house chores or land work on Goreshnitsi (15th, 16th, and 17th July) your house will burn out.
If there are thunders on 20t July (Ilinden) all the nuts (like walnuts and hazelnut) will be hollow and rotten.
On Seknovie (29th August) the dragons, wood-nymphs, mermaids and other magical creatures go to their winter quarters around the world.
On Seknovie (20th August) eating red fruits and vegetables and drinking red wine is forbidden.
If a person is sick during the “Mermaids week” the mermaids have “killed” him.
On St Enio's Day all the herbs have greater medical properties.
Other typical foods during summer in Bulgaria
Summer
brings warm days, more time spent outside and an abundance of
fresh-grown produce from the garden. With the warmer weather, many
people prefer not to heat up their homes, so it is nice to prepare
simple, fresh meals using traditional summer foods to satisfy the whole
family.
Tarator is one of these traditional Bulgarian dishes. It is
prepared mainly in the summer months, because it has a cooling effect,
but many people prepare it all year long. There is almost no Bulgarian,
who will tell you that they do not like eating tarator. Regardless of
the season, you can taste tarator in every Bulgarian restaurant. In the
various parts of the country you can taste various recipes for making
tarator. In its essence, tarator is a cold soup, prepared from yoghurt,
cucumbers, walnuts, salt, vegetable oil and spices. If you are far from
Bulgaria and you want to taste again one of the traditional soups,
favorite to all Bulgarians, you can make it on your own, just for a few
minutes.
Ingredients:
The most important condition for
making a delicious tarator is the Bulgarian yoghurt (100 g). If you can not
supply yourself with it, you can use similar products, which are offered on the
market. You will
1. Wash the cucumber and the dill and peel the garlic.
2. Slice the cucumber into cubs according to your preferences. You can also grate it.
3. Chop the garlic into fine cubes. You can also grate it or press it.
4. Fine chop the dill.
5. Put the sliced cucumber in a vessel. Add the garlic and the dill.
6. Add salt.
7. Add the yogurt.
8. Stir well until all products mix.
9. Dilute the obtained mix with water until you receive a dense substance.
10. Add some olive oil or sunflower oil and stir.11. Fine crush the walnuts.
12. Add the walnuts to the mixture
Peppers
with tomato sauce
In early
August, the streets are filled with aroma that raises the appetite of every
passing person - the aroma of roasted pepper. Peppers
with tomato sauce is a favorite dish for almost every Bulgarian and can eat in
unlimited quantities it every day. Variations of recipes with roasted peppers are
endless, and characteristic for that recipe is the fact that the products are
in the most natural form, use a small amount of fat, which makes it
particularly suitable for lovers of healthy eating. And with
a cold soup like gazpacho or tarator for example, peppers with tomato sauce
could be the perfect lunch in hot summer days.
Ingredients:- 1 kg. pepper
- 1 kg. tomatoes
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- ½ bunch of parsley
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
Recipe:
The peppers:
Wash the
pepper and bake it. (Better on the grill.) After roasting the peppers , wrap
them in a plastic bag or put them in a
pot, which is sealed to allow peppers to soften. Peel the peppers. Cut each pepper lengthwise and salt inside.
The sauce:
First you
need to peel the tomatoes. Blend the peeled tomatoes with a blender or food processor, or just cut
into very small pieces. Once you blend the tomatoes, pour the mash into a saucepan and set it to
boil. Add finely
chopped garlic and ½ teaspoon sugar. Tomatoes are boiled to thicken the sauce. Once the sauce has thickened add the olive oil and
allow to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the finely chopped parsley, then mix well.
The
final step is to arrange the roasted pepper in a large deep bowl , and
then pour the tomato sauce. Add a cheese plate and the dish is ready to
serve!
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1
tablespoon vanilla extract
Ingredients (recipe makes 5 cups) :
• 2 cups
heavy whipping cream
• 2
cups half-and-half cream
• 3/4
cup white sugar
Directions :
1. In
a large bowl, combine the heavy cream and the half and half. Gradually whisk in
the sugar until blended.
2. Whisk
in the vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, until very cold, at least 3 hours or as
long as 3 days.
3. Whisk the mixture to blend and
pour into the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the
manufacturer's directions. Eat at once or transfer to a covered container and
freeze up to 8 hours.
15-20
grape leaves
3 onions, chopped
2 cups white rice
1 teaspoon dried celery or oregano
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups water
Steam the grape leaves. Fry the onion in the oil until brown, add the rice, paprika, celery, and oregano and add the water.
Boil until water is absorbed. Use the mixture to fill the leaves, shaping them like small bundles.
Put in a pot, fill with water so the bundles are fully submerged, boil for about 45 mins on 350 F.
Best when served with some yoghurt on top.
1 lb tripe (calf belly)
1 cup (sunflower) oil
2 cups fresh milk
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
dried hot chili pepper mix
Ingredients:
It is celebrated before Arhangelovden – because Saturday is said to be a day for the dead.
Arhangelova zadushnica is also the day when we give our never ending appreciation for the many soldiers who had given their lives for Bulgaria.
On this holiday, just like on other zadushnici , it is made the so called “table for everyone” (obshti trapezi). Called by the name Big zadushnica, she is the last for the year, that is way on the “table for everyone” in the cemetery people put 7 different meals(between which, such that were favorite of the diseased ),to “hear” the blessings of the dead.The first bite is put on the ground and the first sip of wine is spilled .
Memorial services are made and people give away, the so called razdavki (*). They are mostly given to relatives, neighbors, or even total strangers.
*In the razdavka it is typical to see wine boiled wheat, pitki,bread,meat,such as chicken,lamb, sweets, apples, keks, put you can actually give what you prefer.The wheat is symbol of resurrection, and the bread and wine- a memory to the sacrifice that Christ made for us.
Ingredients:
The cleaned wheat is washed and water is poured on top(6 tea cups).Add the salt and boil until the water comes to the boil, while we stir carefully from time to time..
After that we cover the pot with a blanket for 2-3 hours.
Pour the wheat on a cotton towel spreading it thin. Leave like that for an hour.
Pour the wheat in a bigger receptacle. Add the grinded lemon peel crushed walnuts and the bread crumbs. We stir and put in shallow plates. Sprinkle powdered sugar and voila you have just made Boiled wheat.
This
holiday is one of the biggest in the Bulgarian calendar of pomenatelni
holidays and follows Arhangelova zadushnica, which is celebrated on the
first Saturday before Arhangelov den
To honor the dead, people make the so called “obshti trapezi”,and a ram is sacrificed in the honor of the saint garding the dead.
The women prepare ceremonial bread called “rangelov hlqb” or “bogata pita”. This bread, in the honor of the saint, is broken over the head of the eldest man in the house, after that he spills wine on it and prays for blessing with the words: “Свети Архангеле, свето Никола и вси светци, помагайте ни, почитаме Ви и сечем колач, да се роди ръж до тавана!” .
Here we have a widespread custom to give away wheat, and every person who receives it takes it with both hands and says: “Колкото зърна, толкова купи и здраве”.
1 lb frozen okra, cuts
1 lb frozen broccoli cuts
1 lb green peas
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 diced onions, medium size
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons dried mint
1/2 bunch chopped parsley
3/4 tablespoon salt
2 1/2 lbs peeled and cubed potatoes
2 1/2 lbs cubed pork loin
2 bell peppers, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed (optional)
Preparation:
1 Mix the first 10 ingredients in a large clay bowl.with lid.
2 Chop the other 4 ingredients into 1/4 inch cubes.
3 Mix all together in the clay bowl, cover and cook in a non preheated oven at 550 F for 1 hour.
4 Turn down the temperature to 350 and continue cooking for another hour.
5 This dish would serve 10 large portions. Serve sprinkled with parsley if you desire
AUTUMN HOLIDAYS
CONTENTS
1. Petkovden
· Lozovi sarmi
· Shkembe chorba
2. Dimitrovden
· Pumpkin rachel
· Plump pestil
3. Arhangelova
zadushnitsa
· Boiled wheat
4. Arhangelovden
· Bulgarian Guvech- Vegetable Casserole With Meat in a
Clay Pot
5. Andreevden
· Fasul
recipe(Beans)
PETKOVDEN
Petkovden
marks the ending of working on the fields- the last autumn sowing.
Until then all farmer works should be done, that is why people say „На
Петковден ралото да ти е под стрехата”.
If on Petkovden:
The sun is shining, the tree leaves haven’t fallen, and the sheep are all gathered in one place - the winter is going to be ruff.
This day is also a celebration for the shepherds-on Petkov den they let the ram with the sheep. After that the shepherd is given a gift-banica.
If on Petkovden:
The sun is shining, the tree leaves haven’t fallen, and the sheep are all gathered in one place - the winter is going to be ruff.
This day is also a celebration for the shepherds-on Petkov den they let the ram with the sheep. After that the shepherd is given a gift-banica.
On
Petkovden we make ceremonial bred, the biggest – called saint Petka is layed on
the table on top of a man’s shirt,glass of wine and a small bowl of salt. The
house is then sprinkled with holy water and the family kneels before it three
times.After that the eldest woman takes the bread in her hands blesses everyone
and gives the pieces.
The most important meals we have to put on our table on Petkovden are:Gyvech with mutton meat, kurban chorba, lozovi sarmi, shkembe, meals with parsley, celebratory bread.
The most important meals we have to put on our table on Petkovden are:Gyvech with mutton meat, kurban chorba, lozovi sarmi, shkembe, meals with parsley, celebratory bread.
Lozovi Sarmi
Ingredients
3 onions, chopped
2 cups white rice
1 teaspoon dried celery or oregano
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups water
Preparation
Steam the grape leaves. Fry the onion in the oil until brown, add the rice, paprika, celery, and oregano and add the water.
Boil until water is absorbed. Use the mixture to fill the leaves, shaping them like small bundles.
Put in a pot, fill with water so the bundles are fully submerged, boil for about 45 mins on 350 F.
Best when served with some yoghurt on top.
Shkembe Chorba
Ingredients
1 cup (sunflower) oil
2 cups fresh milk
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
dried hot chili pepper mix
Preparation
Boil
the tripe for about 30 mins, add oil, milk, black pepper and paprika
and boil for another 30 mins occasionally topping up the water. The more
you cook it, the better it will taste.
Combine some salt, garlic and vinegar in a separate cup, let it soak for about an hour.
Serve hot, garnish with the garlic and vinegar mixture and the hot chili peppers.
Suggestion: best with (or after a lot of) rakia or beer.
Combine some salt, garlic and vinegar in a separate cup, let it soak for about an hour.
Serve hot, garnish with the garlic and vinegar mixture and the hot chili peppers.
Suggestion: best with (or after a lot of) rakia or beer.
DIMITROVDEN
Who
is one of the most loved saints by the Bulgarians? That would be saint
Dimitur. A legend says: when he and his brother decided to set on fire
Sveta gora and its monasteries, they were thrown for 3 years on the
bottom of the sea, but their aunts saint Petka and Nedelq begged God to
set them free.
In folklore beliefs if saint Dimitur comes on his horse and from his beard falls snow –winter is coming.
The time between Dimitrovden and Nikulden people call it Poor man’s summer(siromashko lqto).
On this day owners settle with the workers they had hired for Gergiovden(shepherds and cotters),in some places this holiday is called Razpust, and to the most careful cotters they give clothes and a lamb.
Dimitrovden is filled with a lot prophecies to be fulfilled the following year:If the moon is full – the bee hive too, with honey. On the night before the holiday, shepherd throws a stick in the sheds. If in the morning the sheep lay on top of it, it is believed that winter will be long and ruff.
Typical for this day are also celebratory prophesies according to the first guest ever set foot in the house on Dimitrovden. If the guest is kind and wealthy, the year will also be successful.
On the holiday table on Dimitrovden there must be kurban or guvech of ram, chicken soup- from cock if the person celebrating is male and from hen if it is a woman. On the table we should also put boiled corn, pestil, pita with apples, vegetables, pumpkin, rachel.
In folklore beliefs if saint Dimitur comes on his horse and from his beard falls snow –winter is coming.
The time between Dimitrovden and Nikulden people call it Poor man’s summer(siromashko lqto).
On this day owners settle with the workers they had hired for Gergiovden(shepherds and cotters),in some places this holiday is called Razpust, and to the most careful cotters they give clothes and a lamb.
Dimitrovden is filled with a lot prophecies to be fulfilled the following year:If the moon is full – the bee hive too, with honey. On the night before the holiday, shepherd throws a stick in the sheds. If in the morning the sheep lay on top of it, it is believed that winter will be long and ruff.
Typical for this day are also celebratory prophesies according to the first guest ever set foot in the house on Dimitrovden. If the guest is kind and wealthy, the year will also be successful.
On the holiday table on Dimitrovden there must be kurban or guvech of ram, chicken soup- from cock if the person celebrating is male and from hen if it is a woman. On the table we should also put boiled corn, pestil, pita with apples, vegetables, pumpkin, rachel.
Pumpkin rachel
- 2 kg pumpkin
- 2 kg sugar
- 1 l water л
- 2 table spoon lemon acid
- 2 vanillas
Preparation:
The
pumpkin, cleaned and washed, is cut in cubes which are kept in lime
water(5l water and 150gr slack lime).After that take them out and wash
them very carefully. When you are ready put them in the boiling sauce
made from the sugar, dissolved in the water.The Rachel is boiled until
it thickens. A little bit before you take of the fire add the lemon and
the vanillas. You can enshrine it in jars from jam.
Plump pestil – dry fruit marmalade (recipe
from 1920)
|
Choose the
sweetest fruit. They are then left for 2-3 days to soften, after that time,
they are steamed, pealed and the stones are taken out
After that let it boil until they are halved.
The
stones
may not be taken out and the peel also may be left on the plump. The
mash is boiled until it thickens.Then it is taken off the oven, splashed
on a
board (sprinkled with flour) and is put in a low heated oven
After
a day, take it out and is kneaded again. Sprinkle the board with flour
and on top of it splash the mash on a layer 5mm thick and is put in a
low
heated oven.
After the oven is chilled take the mash
out and
spread
it with a wooden stick,so that the mash can settle, after that tamp it with
the stick and leave it to dry.
After it is dried out wind
it up like a homespun and is preserved
in dry place.
Before consummation dilute with heated water.
|
Arhangelova zadushnica
It is celebrated before Arhangelovden – because Saturday is said to be a day for the dead.
Arhangelova zadushnica is also the day when we give our never ending appreciation for the many soldiers who had given their lives for Bulgaria.
On this holiday, just like on other zadushnici , it is made the so called “table for everyone” (obshti trapezi). Called by the name Big zadushnica, she is the last for the year, that is way on the “table for everyone” in the cemetery people put 7 different meals(between which, such that were favorite of the diseased ),to “hear” the blessings of the dead.The first bite is put on the ground and the first sip of wine is spilled .
Memorial services are made and people give away, the so called razdavki (*). They are mostly given to relatives, neighbors, or even total strangers.
*In the razdavka it is typical to see wine boiled wheat, pitki,bread,meat,such as chicken,lamb, sweets, apples, keks, put you can actually give what you prefer.The wheat is symbol of resurrection, and the bread and wine- a memory to the sacrifice that Christ made for us.
Boiled wheat
- 500 gr wheat
- lemon’s peel
- 1 tea spoon crushed walnuts
- 2 table spoon bread crumbs
- 1 tea spoon
- 1 tea spoon powder sugar 1 sprinkle salt
Preparation:
The cleaned wheat is washed and water is poured on top(6 tea cups).Add the salt and boil until the water comes to the boil, while we stir carefully from time to time..
After that we cover the pot with a blanket for 2-3 hours.
Pour the wheat on a cotton towel spreading it thin. Leave like that for an hour.
Pour the wheat in a bigger receptacle. Add the grinded lemon peel crushed walnuts and the bread crumbs. We stir and put in shallow plates. Sprinkle powdered sugar and voila you have just made Boiled wheat.
Arhangelovden
This
holiday is one of the biggest in the Bulgarian calendar of pomenatelni
holidays and follows Arhangelova zadushnica, which is celebrated on the
first Saturday before Arhangelov den To honor the dead, people make the so called “obshti trapezi”,and a ram is sacrificed in the honor of the saint garding the dead.
The women prepare ceremonial bread called “rangelov hlqb” or “bogata pita”. This bread, in the honor of the saint, is broken over the head of the eldest man in the house, after that he spills wine on it and prays for blessing with the words: “Свети Архангеле, свето Никола и вси светци, помагайте ни, почитаме Ви и сечем колач, да се роди ръж до тавана!” .
Here we have a widespread custom to give away wheat, and every person who receives it takes it with both hands and says: “Колкото зърна, толкова купи и здраве”.
The table on Arhangelov den, traditionally, must have
:guvech,fasul, apples and other season fruit, red wine and of course ceremonial
bread.
Bulgarian Guvech-
Vegetable Casserole With Meat in a Clay Pot
Ingredients:
1 lb frozen broccoli cuts
1 lb green peas
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 diced onions, medium size
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons dried mint
1/2 bunch chopped parsley
3/4 tablespoon salt
2 1/2 lbs peeled and cubed potatoes
2 1/2 lbs cubed pork loin
2 bell peppers, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed (optional)
Preparation:
1 Mix the first 10 ingredients in a large clay bowl.with lid.
2 Chop the other 4 ingredients into 1/4 inch cubes.
3 Mix all together in the clay bowl, cover and cook in a non preheated oven at 550 F for 1 hour.
4 Turn down the temperature to 350 and continue cooking for another hour.
5 This dish would serve 10 large portions. Serve sprinkled with parsley if you desire
ANDREEVDEN
Bulgarians
call this holiday “Endrei” or Bear day (Mechki den). According to
folklore beliefs, from this holiday on, the day starts to increase.
On this holiday’s eve or in the early morning is when every housewife makes boiled corn, fasul ,leshta or oat. That is to help seeds grow just like they swell after being boiled. Everybody eats from these dishes as well as the domestic animals. The women give away to their neighbors to provoke the fertility of the year.
In the north parts of Bulgaria, Andreevden is celebrated as a bear holiday, called Bearday. According to an old legend once saint Anderei lived as a lonely hermit in the mountain. There he worked on a small field, but a bear once ate his ox. The angry farmer managed to catch the beast, harnessed it on the ox’s place and the bear gave in under the power of his will. Since then he rode the bear and cultivated the field with its help. That is why this old man is believed to be the patron of bears, as their guardian.
Before sunrise on Andreevden the eldest woman in the family takes a handful of seeds and a slice of bread and throws them upwards in the chimney in her house saying the words: “На ти, мецо, кукуруз, че да не ядеш суровия и да не ядеш стоката и човеците!”
No household chores are done on this holiday.
On this holiday’s eve or in the early morning is when every housewife makes boiled corn, fasul ,leshta or oat. That is to help seeds grow just like they swell after being boiled. Everybody eats from these dishes as well as the domestic animals. The women give away to their neighbors to provoke the fertility of the year.
In the north parts of Bulgaria, Andreevden is celebrated as a bear holiday, called Bearday. According to an old legend once saint Anderei lived as a lonely hermit in the mountain. There he worked on a small field, but a bear once ate his ox. The angry farmer managed to catch the beast, harnessed it on the ox’s place and the bear gave in under the power of his will. Since then he rode the bear and cultivated the field with its help. That is why this old man is believed to be the patron of bears, as their guardian.
Before sunrise on Andreevden the eldest woman in the family takes a handful of seeds and a slice of bread and throws them upwards in the chimney in her house saying the words: “На ти, мецо, кукуруз, че да не ядеш суровия и да не ядеш стоката и човеците!”
No household chores are done on this holiday.
Fasul recipe(Beans)
Ingredients:
- Fasul(Beans) 200gr;
- Cooking oil 50gr
- Onion 100gr
- Flour 25gr
- Carrots 2
- smashed tomatoes 15 gr
- red pepper
- salt
You
clean the beans, wash them and soak them into water for 8 hours. Then
take the water out and but the beans boiling with cold water on the
electric ring. After the beans had come to the boil throw out the water
wash them again and leave them boiling. After coming to the boil again
add salt and the cooking oil and simmer it until the beans soften. Later
add the carrots and onion. Sprinkle some savory. The meal should have
enough water so if it is needed you can add more. Now you can put the
tomatoes and the red pepper and just a few minutes after, you have
yourselves Fasul(Beans)!
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