The Christmas menu of the Bulgarians

The Christmas menu of the Bulgarians Christmas, or the Nativity of Christ, is one of the most revered Orthodox Christian holidays in Bulgaria. It is celebrated on December 25th, but the actual celebration takes place the previous day, when the Bulgarian families gather at the table for what we call "Budni vecher", or Christmas Eve family reunion.

Tradition has it that in the olden days the table was laid on the floor of the room, where straw was scattered all around and covered with a linen cloth, and remained laid until the next day, Christmas. The host had to cut off an oak or a pear tree trunk that was placed in the fireplace to keep the fire burning until the following morning. After the trunk burnt down, the ashes were used as medicine throughout the year. The fire was a symbol of the Sun. Christmas coincides with the shortest daylight of the year, when the sun’s rays are scarce, that is why by way of the ritual fire the people tried to bring symbolically the sun into their homes.

The present-day Bulgarians are able to carry out only a part of those rituals. Hardly anyone these days will lay the table on the floor. And yet, there are very many households, either in the cities or in the countryside, where people can start a fire in the fireplace. The rest could do with the light of burning candles.

But let us go back to the Christmas menu. The Christmas bread is essential. A silver coin is placed in the dough for luck and prosperity and a piece of cornel-tree for good health. Christmas buns are baked in the shape of circles, horseshoes or the figure eight. Those were meant to give away to children and guests on Christmas. In line with the tradition the bread is decorated with the sign of the cross made with dough. Balls are placed at the periphery of the ritual bread. Those used to represent the sheep and the cattle. This is no coincidence because the early Christian icon painters used to depict Christ as the good shepherd surrounded by a flock of sheep.

The symbols of the Bible and the popular beliefs are closely intertwined in the ritual system of Christmas Eve and Christmas. When the family gathers at the table the oldest among them burns incense over the table. The host remains standing and tears the ritual bread high above his head so that the crops grow high in the coming year. After that he makes wishes to every one present. Every one takes a bite of the bread. If there is a single girl in the house, she hides a piece of bread under her pillow in the hope that her sweetheart will ask her hand in marriage. In some parts of the country grains are scattered over the table as a symbol of fertility.

The meals on Christmas Eve are meatless.

The dishes have to be an uneven number, for example nine as the months of pregnancy or seven as the days of the week. In some parts of Bulgaria people lay 12 dishes on the table to match the number of the months in a year. The Christmas table includes mostly foods that imbibe upon boiling – cereals, beans, lentils, rice, raisins, etc. All of those foods symbolize conception, pregnancy and the birth of new life. A special dish are the minced meat and rice balls folded in grape or cabbage leaves, called sarmi, peppers stuffed with beans and rice, stewed beans, lentils, garlic pressed together with nuts in honey, boiled cereals, etc. The menu includes also many fruits – apples, pears and quinces. Their yellow and red colours are another means of decorating the table. Wheat ears and fir tree branches are laid on the table. Honey is placed to sweeten life, onions, so that the estates are as many as the onion scales, and garlic, to drive away evil spirits. A jug of red wine is the finishing touch. Superstition has it that no one is allowed to leave the table, and unless they absolutely have to do it, they have to stoop.

Christmas marks the end of forty days of fasting. That is why meat dishes are offered. Roast pork, chicken and homemade sausages, etc. are richly gulped down with red wine. Friends and relatives come to pay a visit. The principal idea behind the symbols of the holidays is the circle of life, and the time span between birth and death.