7th January is Ivanovden in Bulgaria

This evening there will be festivities in our Bulgarian household as Galia's son called Ivaylo (Ivo) and he has been in party mood all day as he presented with banitsas, boza and a big smile at 7:30 this morning. The wine and Rakia will be out again this evening as another Bulgarian celebration takes hold. The beauty is it doesn't cost much to celebrate here, it is just families gathering together, the food and drink are celebrated everyday anyway. Why the celebration?

Today 7th January in Bulgaria is yet another special day of celebration; it is Ivanovden or Ivan Name Day. It is the name day of everyone associated with the name Ivan such as Vanyo, Vanya, Yoan/Ioan, Yoanna/Ioanna, Yonko/Yonka, Yoto, Ivaylo, Ivo, Ivona, Kaloyan, Jan/Jean, and Janna. These names and equivalents mean 'God's Blessing'

In Bulgaria where the name days are so important as part of the culture here, the ritual is of course food based as well. Foods that are prepared and eaten on this day traditionally include: boiled wheat, boiled beans, stewed fruit, banitsa, baked blood sausage, baked loukanika sausage, pork and cabbage stew.

Ivan is the Bulgarian version of John, which is why on Ivanovden the Orthodox Church celebrates this particular day dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It was St John who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. The day before (6th January) was Yordan Imen Den (Jordan Name Day) where the church blesses the River - The very next day, it is 'John (Ivan) The Baptist' who is celebrated and his namesake followers.

Ivanovden is an established traditional folk festival and all part of and a seemingly never-ending cycle of festivals starting from Christmas and running well into the New Year.

It is also the tradition that St. John (Ivan) is the patron saint of the 'Best man' or 'Brotherhood' and in some place the tradition carries on. This recently married couples bringing ritual bread, meat and some wine and lay out the food on the table. The men step on red-hot embers with their right foot, this known as the 'Ivanovsto Ritual' making a vow to become fellow brothers and the wives fellow sisters. No newly-weds around here today so we won't be hot footing any of these traditions this evening.

This is the last celebration for a few days in Bulgaria who are treating Saturday as a normal working week day as it was taken as an extra day of holiday in lieu last week with an extended Christmas and New Year break, so it's not all celebrations.

Bulgaria Celebrates St Nicholas Day (6th December) with Fish

December 6th in Bulgaria is a special day, it is another name day and the day to celebrate the day of Saint Nicholas and all Bulgarian that are called Nikolai or variations on it.

St. Nicholas is the protector of sailor and fishermen and a public holiday each for all those that are involved with the fishing industry.

St. Nicholas being the commander of the sea calms winds and storms and often saves ships that are in danger. It is tradition that the Bulgarians keep icons of St. Nicholas on their boats and ships. This is meant to give them protection from the harsh elements that are sometimes thrown at them. The wives of the sailors and fishermen place icons of St. Nicholas into the sea and pray to St. Nicholas that their sea fairing husbands return safely to shore.

The day of St Nicholas is officially the day that ends the autumn fishing season called Nikulden (Nikul Day.) On this day the catch is offered to St. Nicholas. The hard worked fishermen eat the initial fish landed on the shore before bringing the remaining catch home.

The day is festive, especially on areas by the Black Sea coast, but also all over the country with fish filled reservoirs scattered the length and breadth of the land. There are many community and civic planned concerts, fish dishes galore and of course and fireworks and after dark.

The carp is the number one fish based food for the day. There is a legend that is told about a ship that was sinking due to a hole in the hull. The story goes on to say that St. Nicholas rammed a live carp in thegaping hole hence saving the ship. A special fish dish called Ribnik made up with carp wrapped in dough or sometimes baked with rice. It is then baked an oven alongside two specially made loaves of bread. As well as Ribnik there are a variety of other meatless dishes served.

Before the delicious food is tucked into, it is blessed at either a local church or at at home before being consumed. It is a Bulgarian traditional belief that the carp is as St Nicholas's servant.

Incense is wafted over the food as the host raises the bread and breaks it in half. The breaker keeps one half of the bread and lays the other on the table. The bread breaker also keeps the cross-shaped bone from the fish head, called krakhche . It is subsequently buried as is meant to protect for the house. Sometimes another tradition is for grandmothers to sew it into theirgrandchildren's head wear caps to protect them from evil spirits.

We are due to have fish tomorrowas one was taken from a local reservoir today (the one in the picture.) Even if we don't attend the civic festivals that are going on in every town it is still traditional that all Bulgarian families have fish to eat on the 6th December. This is of course the biggest day of the year for fish sales in Bulgaria.

A Perfect Bulgarian Day

Today was a wonderful day in Bulgaria what's more nothing went wrong all day. As far as days go here most are a joy but today it was Saturday we we at the Skalitsa farmhouse and there wasn't much to do on the farm. The only chores were picking the ripe vegetables from the land.

After a lay in to 9:00 and then baking Skalitsa Banistas, a bike ride was taken from Skalitsa to General Toshevo and back with the scenery en route absolutely stunning on this clear sunny day. I couldn't help noticing the sliva trees full of sliva along the main road.

Colours from bright yellow, rose, red and purple it was like sweets on a tree. Then there were a few trees with the big victoria plum type fruit, I couldn't resist stopping and picking a few to bring back to the farmhouse as the sweetness just hit me on trying one. There is nothing like just going out and picking free fruit better not only that fresher and better tasting than anything you can buy in the shops.

After an exhilarating bike ride it was a little sleep mid afternoon, something that most Bulgarian do but I still have trouble getting into that routine.

The evening brought out the barbecue as Galia and I for once didn't have any visitors this evening. An evening alone with good food excellent home made grape rakia I made two years ago and Bulgarian music from the radio. Both Galia and I agreed, the end of a perfect Bulgarian day

The end of a perfect day for relaxing but looking around most of my neighbours do this most of the time at weekends during the summer. Well the men do anyway.




http://365bulgarianadventures.com
http://therakiasite.com
http://doshforu.com

Gergyovden

Well it's the 6th of May and and eagerly awaited population in Bulgaria was finally rewarded with their patience. It is another name day in Bulgaria and a pretty big one, the name is George. Incidentally it is also Army Day to coincide with this day of celebration. It is unofficially the day summer starts and is celebrated by farmers throughout the land with a specially baked Gergyovden bread.

All people that have a name mildly similar to the name George is included in the name day celebrations but of course all friends and family get in on the act of celebrating on their behalves. So Galia has her name day set today, a special day for her and a present was bought the day before. She wanted a chip fryer and she got one. No jewellery, fancy fashion or otherwise was wanted. What a practical Bulgarian she is and a very happy one I'm so glad I've got her for so many reasons, not least the love I have for her.

We had also purchased the lamb after surveying many shops. This of course is the traditional food of this particular name day. But little was we to know that we didn't get to eat it...... Mainly because a guest arrives a lunchtime.

It was Georgio, Galia's cousin, who of course was celebrating with his allocated name. He had a friend in the wonderful Yambol Park who own a restaurant/bar and he had reserved an area sitting out in the park for all his friends and family. We had formally been invited and we had tot be there within the hour. No worries though a Bulgarian hour can last anything up to 6 hours and in some cases lasts forever! This means we had time enough to get ready.

We were very excited as we remember last years' celebration laid on by Doctor Georgo and although we didn't make it due to work commitments we saw how much fun was had by the pictures, including live accordion music and game with a live, loaded handgun - that's another story though.

Galia and I got ready in our best outfits and bough a gift of perfume and chocolates for Georgio, again traditional gifts with moderate costs are traditional. We walked in glorious sunshine to the Park, (called Diana Park after the Greek Goddess of Hunting).

We saw the cluster of buildings in the centre of the park, part of which used to be for wedding functions etc. but had been run down since 1990. Georgio we could seen in the distance already had a few friends around and the rakia had already been started. Could he last the distance?

We sat down again with glorious weather in the middle of this beautiful park and every so often more friends and family turned up. Shopska salad, green salad, nuts, were a never ending supply from the restuarant and we could smell the barbeque which consisted of kufta (herbed mince balls). Then the lamb, which fell off the bone came into play after a few hours.

All this time we were talking and listening to heavy metal music, Georgio and Toma (the restaurant owner) were a big fans of this music. The whole of the park was filled with Iron Maiden, Metalika and Alice Cooper, the latter they played from my request once they found out I was a big fan.

The strange thing about this get together was that I felt as if I was part of the family, my Bulgarian now up to quite a bit in conversation terms. No longer did I have to become isolated from a point of lack of Bulgarian communication skills. Oddly enough everyone wanted to speak English to me but I didn't feel right about this and explained why. Anyone who knows me know why as well.

The guests still came flooding in and the children paying around were so refreshing and didn't need any attention from parents. They were more than content to play such simple games in the park like hide and seek, running races and just playing around with a simple stick they found in the woods. There wasn't any need for anything for them to be stimulated by other than playing with themselves. The whole day and evening was stress free and content children added to this immensely. God I'm so glad I here in Bulgaria and away from disrespectful, spoilt and untamed Brit kids.

Speaking with many people I met the head coach of the International Bulgarian basketball Coach. He was telling me how Bulgarian basket ball is on the up and that Yambol basketball is the best in the country. He also was saying that it was becoming harder each year from lack of funding at school. This of course means less talent cultured at an early age and less talent in the pipeline for the future. He had be the coach for some twenty years having worked his way up through the ranks. We spoke about many other things related to sport and basketball, he has a strong opinion that golf, snooker and other sports that don't involve aerobic activities aren't sport at all! He has a point.

The toilets in the main building had a reputation, non on site with the restaurant/bar as all this was really was a souped up shed! The reputation was realised by Galia as she tested the water. From thereon it was toilet natural as we were surrounded by lush greenery, trees and bushes, perfect for relief in natural privacy. The Tundhza was only 20 metres away from our seat and many men found this a good point of relief with blocks of apartments opposite staring them in the face holding no fear of indecency. (A picture of the mens' toilets is given here)

So many friendly people, it is overwhelming that this now is part and parcel of how life is here and Galia and me are also very much part of the makeup. Food drink and music and song were now going through into the night as the lights came on.

Rakia by the litre and real Russian vodka were the staple drinking diet. Every few minute a big 'Heidi!' followed by 'Nastravey!' Occasional a few Bulgarian singing came out based around the name of George even so often followed by the 'Nastravey' and so it went on.....

Finally the crowded long table got shorter and midnight approached but not before many laughs and talking with a bit of dancing toward the end materialised. (The two name day celebraties Georgio and Galia give a good example here.) We knew we'd been to a party and lost count of the numbers of rakias we had. Even so nobody got out of hand, there was no bad words or bad feelings all was concord throughout. Again the respect everyone has for everyone else is quite astounding.

We finally got home and just looked at each other knowing that coming back home to Bulgaria was the best move we had made and we just don't want to ever leave again.