Bulgarians still hang at least one new toy from their Christmas trees every year in the belief that it will bring them luck and health.
But to begin with, Bulgarians decorated the trees with apples, walnuts, popcorn and home-made paper garlands in different colours. Later, imported sets of glass toys made their way into the country. The Christmas tree became indispensable in Bulgaria after the liberation of the country in 1878, when a process of Europeanization of Christmas and New Year rituals began in the country.
European-style balls were being organized, Christmas cards sent out, and of course, there were presents for the children. Another element of the Christmas and New Year magic were the “toys of fire” in the sky, as the new-sprung fireworks were then called.
Find out how and when the first Christmas tree appeared in this country HERE.
Editor: Dessislava Semkovska
It was 1883 when construction began in Plovdiv on the building of the Regional Assembly of Eastern Rumelia, based on a design by architect Pietro Montani. Eastern Rumelia was an autonomous Bulgarian province within the Ottoman Empire and one of the..
Today marks 35 years since since one of the most emblematic events in Bulgaria’s post-communist history — the arson of the former Communist Party House. The causes behind the incident remain shrouded in mystery to this day. The criminal case..
The unique audio-visual show "Sound and Light" in the Balkans, and in Europe, which recreates important moments from Bulgarian history against the backdrop of the centuries-old remains of heroic eras in the old capital Veliko Tarnovo, is celebrating..
Overcast, rain
Rain
Partly cloudy, chance of rain