A Simple Christmas Eve Family Celebration In Bulgaria

Christmas here with Galia’s family in Yambol was a simple affair with no gimmicks attached. The plan was to have a family get together on Christmas Eve and just talk, eat, drink and dance, bit not necessarily in that order. Four generations of family were all together in one place by 9:00 Christmas Eve and the food and drink was being dipped into.

Christmas is very economical here ijh out household, I don’t think it would be much different if we had money either as the habit of not wasting money is instilled into Bulgarian souls here. As a couple of examples is the fact that we don’t exchange Christmas cards and most of the food is homemade during this season with the majority stocks that have been grown from the summer and autumn. It makes so much sense to be like this/. To me sending Christmas cards was always done in the main just for the sake of it and to not send one was made out to be criminal. This was the only reason many were sent not to be made to feel guilty.

Shopping at Christmas and crowds leading up tot Christmas just doesn’t happen here. To me this is such a great thing to experience and my thoughts are always on my past and the rush and bad tempers and the stress and the commercial rut that the UK is in. It is hard not to get that past and the mayhem of this out of my head even after quite a few Christmases here.

Decorations at this festive season are at a minimum and what we do put out are used year in year out. We just have a simple Christmas tree is a simple half a metre tall plastic affair, which never ages in the ten years it has been used here. It is just as effective each year without lights. No fancy ceiling and wall decorations, just two little Santa Clause figures hanging from a couple of cupboard knobs, that’s it.

Food at this time of year is not that much different form our daily meals. Dishes for the Christmas Eve family celebration consist of vegetarian dishes up until midnight when the meat dishes come out. We all came with out own dishes, which made up the seven different dishes of the night. Seven different dishes on this particular night is traditional although it can be extended to nine or eleven. Apart from the traditional baked bread, the sweet boiled wheat dish and mushroom (in place of mince) filled sarmi (stuffed vine leaves) all the other dishes are regular finds on our kitchen dining table. To me this home made food from homegrown products is a special celebration every day in any case. The difference is the company and occasion, which makes it even more special.

This is a time for all generations to get together as the eldest member of the family starts the celebration off with a speech. Baba at 85 was the eldest and did the honours. She was then handed the flat bread and broke off the first piece then passed to on to every person there. We all hoped to get the buried 20 stotinki coin that gave good luck for next year, guess who got it – Yes me. I felt quite guilty denying all these Bulgarian their luck.

The evening was now rolling with fun and laughter all round aided by lashings of rakia (all three varieties of homemade). Then the dancing started and the gifts made to the children. Not gifts that you expect. These were little gifts of little sweet snacks and some fruit (and apple and an orange) in a little plastic bag. The children of the family were more than content with their gifts, which were gracefully accepted from another older member of the family. The older members of the family are seen with great respect here and again this is so rewarding for me to watch each year.

Dancing, eating drinking and of course talking with the volume on a never crescendo throughout the night continued. Midnight came and the meat was served. This was simply sliced salami and the end of the traditional fasting from meat (just the day for us but puritans from the 5th December.)

We finally left at 4:00 in the morning with Baba being supported on both sides by Galia and myself, I think we both needed her support to be quite honest. Home was only 400 metres away as we arrived and all slept like a log after a heart warming occasion that could and did bring a tear to my eye.

This is how Christmas should be celebrated, with family, tradition upheld and simple food, drink and respect for everyone, something that I am still getting used to here after all the Christmases I never really looked forward to in the UK.

Working Before Holidays In Bulgaria

I was work this Saturday as it was taken in lieu of the non-public holiday on the 31st January. I thought it was going to be a bit of an easy day with an early finish, not such luck as I wearily walked out of the factory gates at 17:07 after an sharp crisp icy 8:00 start.

What made it worse was that the Lada’s brakes had frozen solid this working Saturday morning after around a –7 C night that followed the rain the previous evening. The water off the road driving home Friday evening must have been the cause of the ice between the brake pads. It was strange that I was the only one stationary this morning, I found out why shortly afterwards. Bulgarian drivers leave their handbrake off during sub-zero temperatures overnight parked up and carry a brick with them to place under the wheel to stop rolling. This won’t happen again with this bit of Bulgarian wisdom taken on board as I embarked into another Lada, this time a taxi) whose driver used this trick last night.

It was indeed a couple of weary people catching a life home only to find that we had guests waiting who didn’t’ know we worked today and it was preparing food and drink after seeing to the Lada with a brick hand. We parties on through the evening and I even got the privilege to see my football team Arsenal live on television Arsenal winning 3-0 against Hull City. The sound was muted and Bulgaria music was played over it. It was quite a funny two hours of football watching Arsenal dance around the opposition with Chalga and Bulgarian conversation in full flow.

Our guests were out of work, but they look upon this a break or ‘pochivka’, I wasn’t too sure whether they were trying to put a brave face on it or whether they really saw it like that. I think the former was the case as they left us at midnight. It was a deep sleep we both had still waking up at 6:30 naturally then going back to sleep again, just a great moment that!

Galia hates the cold and it’s cold. Just walking 100 metres to the shop and back with an artic wind in your face just doesn’t bother me at all, but Galia finds this extremely uncomfortable. My greatest hate about winter is the time it takes to get dressed and undressed, always in a rush, it is frustrating with the amount of clothing that has to be put on just to pop down the road of a loaf of bread.

We now have Sunday off, but an early bed awaits us in the evening with a 6:30 alarm call again Monday morning. Three days of hard graft then 4 days of Christmas to look forward to. I just hope we get paid before the holiday. We are due to have the whole of Galia’s family together her cousin’s apartment block Christmas Eve to see us all into Christmas Day. It will be mainly a vegetarian affair with banitsa and other Bulgarian goodies including lots of dark beer and rakia until midnight when the meat party begins for real and of course freshly slaughtered pig salami will be the first on the new look menu. Most people now only fast on the day rather than from the 4th December which it the strict tradition. We did the same thing three years ago and a memorable event it was then, before I started blogging though. (You can read about Christmas Eve in a Bulgarian Village on my other blog 365 Bulgarian Adventures)Picture from 365 Bulgarian Adventures (Christmas Eve In A Bulgarian Village)

I was too tired to use the camera last night, besides which I am still not too familiar with the set up and am quite disappointed with the quality of pictures to date. I hope to get quite a few shots over Christmas though. I case I don’t get time to post another blog before the 25th can I wish everyone a lovely family Christmas from Galia and myself.

A Bulgarian Birthday Without Fuss

A birthday is something both Galia and I both can’t wait to get over. There is too much fuss made with it, especially that we are both getting on a bit. Bulgarians love celebrating things and birthdays is an occasion where this is more than just an excuse to have a get together with food and drink. Such an occasion was last Friday with Galia’s birthday.

Our normal plan on Friday is to zoom off to the farmhouse directly finishing work at 5:00 and even though it was Galia’s birthday that day the plan still stood for us to do that. The reason were two fold, the corps needed watering that very evening and Galia just didn’t’ want to be around as she knew there would be lots of fussing an guests on here birthday, this is something she didn’t want so the village destination was on to get away from this.

It’s never that easy as Galia’s son turned up just before we were to leave and he was to travelled with us to the farmhouse as a guest with his girlfriend joining us the following day after she finished work in the evening. Then there were more people who were crammed in the car after we had been shopping for provision. Out village neighbours and their Labrador dog clambered in the Lada with the boot full of factory farm produced peppers for barbecuing and 75 kg of ceramic tiling which our guests wanted transporting as their bathroom was being renovated this weekend. We felt every bump on the road to Skalitsa as the Lada bottomed out on each bump and there ARE LOTS OF BUMPS!

Everyone knew it was Galia’s birthday but most people just wish Happy Birthday along with wishes of good luck, business, health and love, gifts aren’t always given and to be quite honest both Galia and I are quite embarrassed with receiving them as we know money is very short here. I had paid for an item of clothing a week ago and Galia insisted that was to be all she wanted from me as a birthday gift. Although we don’t want presents we both can’t help not getting each other a little gift. That’s all she got from me as she would become upset if I bought something else, I know I’ve done it before and I felt as guilty as Galia.

The evening was spent as a threesome with Galia son and me as we sat outside in the dark night sipping rakia and salad and went inside later to present Galia with a little cake with three candles which we use again and again for every birthday in Skalitsa. A Happy Birthday song sung badly a birthday kiss and the candles blown out and that was the entirety of the birthday celebrations. We were all tuck in bed by 10:00 – The reason? We were all going to go fishing in the morning and the alarms were set for a 5:30 rise!

Galia really enjoy the little fuss that was made on this day she calls ‘unspecial’. I know what she means. Birthday celebrations to Galia and I are to be celebrated but not lavishly with massive festivities and expense. The little cake and song along with the spoken wishes were just enough put a silver lining on an ordinary day and that’s all Galia wanted.