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2 weeks ago
January 12, 2008
January 2, 2008
Christmas and New Years
Our first Christmas and New Years in Bulgaria is finished! We went back to our training site in Kyustendil for Christmas to visit the families that we lived with during training. But first, we spent a night in Dupnitsa with some other volunteers that we had not seen for about two months. It was good to exchange stories about the differences between life here and life back in the states. When we arrived in K-dill we were surprised by weather a little - it was much colder and had more snow than Sliven. We were glad we took some warm clothes!
In Bulgaria there are many traditions and superstitions that surround Christmas. The big day of celebration, however, is Christmas eve when they await the birth of Jesus. Traditionally, families eat meals that day without meat. Some people even fast meat (vegan style) for 40 days before Christmas. The evening meal must have 7, 9, 11, or 13 dishes for luck, and must include pumpkin banitsa (click here for pics)! It is believed that they way Christmas eve goes will be a prediction for the way the rest of the next year will go, so they work very hard to make sure things are perfect. Needless to say we had a great time with our friends and we look forward to making another trip back to Kyustendil.
For the New Year's celebration we went to a party of one of Stacie's friends from the Youth House. Stacie and I stayed at the party until about 3am, but most everyone else left even later than that! We were very surprised by the level of celebrations here. The best part though was right at 12am when everyone started lighting fireworks. We were on a street lined with apartments and at 12 everyone went to their balcony and started throwing large explosive devices onto the street below. The explosions lasted for several hours, but were for the most part done with by 3 :) It was quite a sight!
In Bulgaria there are many traditions and superstitions that surround Christmas. The big day of celebration, however, is Christmas eve when they await the birth of Jesus. Traditionally, families eat meals that day without meat. Some people even fast meat (vegan style) for 40 days before Christmas. The evening meal must have 7, 9, 11, or 13 dishes for luck, and must include pumpkin banitsa (click here for pics)! It is believed that they way Christmas eve goes will be a prediction for the way the rest of the next year will go, so they work very hard to make sure things are perfect. Needless to say we had a great time with our friends and we look forward to making another trip back to Kyustendil.
For the New Year's celebration we went to a party of one of Stacie's friends from the Youth House. Stacie and I stayed at the party until about 3am, but most everyone else left even later than that! We were very surprised by the level of celebrations here. The best part though was right at 12am when everyone started lighting fireworks. We were on a street lined with apartments and at 12 everyone went to their balcony and started throwing large explosive devices onto the street below. The explosions lasted for several hours, but were for the most part done with by 3 :) It was quite a sight!
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