On Christmas Eve, we gather with close people to celebrate Christmas Eve. Traditionally, a lean meal is prepared with an odd number of dishes. It is called Christmas Eve, because on Christmas night the ancient prophecies about the coming into the world of the Son of God, who is the Savior of humanity, come true. According to popular customs, Christmas begins today.
On Christmas Eve, one of the most important traditions is the preparation of ritual bread. The symbols found on bread, which is necessarily lean, express people’s hopes for blessing and prosperity. In different regions of the country, the patterns on the bread vary, but most often a cross is depicted.
Bread is the most important part of the Christmas Eve table, explains Valentina Kostova from the municipality of Dimitrovgrad.
“The cross must be present on the ritual bread, the salcum grape – which is the blessing, also the ears of corn. We also have a fenced barn – a symbol of the house.”
Minka Dimitrova from the village of Krum follows the tradition which dictates:
“In the evening, the older farmer takes the pita, raises it high and says: “The higher I raise, the bigger the ears and the grain, may there be prosperity, may there be health in this family, may there be many kids . The first bite puts it on the icon. He will also break the mother-in-law. And then – according to seniority, everyone breaks down. Whoever gets the coin will have a lot of money in the year.”
In the Middle Rhodopes an important place in the customs of Christmas Eve is occupied by rites related to the home fire, table setting and Christmas Eve for children and bachelors. The whole family is arranged around the ritual table, and the eldest woman in the family lights a candle on the ritual bread and sets fire to the table and the house.
Christmas Eve is the first incense supper and is one of the most revered family holidays. A few days before Christmas, the owner of the house cut down a big tree, which should keep the fire going all night, said Anna Bulgurova – a tour guide at the RIM “Stoyu Shishkov” in Smolyan:
“The ritual table in the Middle Rhodopes is laid out on a clean, new cloth spread on the floor. Meals are lean, include boiled beans, sardines with cabbage leaves, corn, or wheat. Add dried fruits, garlic, raisins, nuts. It occupies a special place on the table the bread, is distinguished by the rich plastic decoration. “Christmas” is also present on the table – a copper vessel full of raw grains and there is a single candle – a symbol of abundance in the house. At the center of this festively laid table, the purse of the head of the family must be placed to multiply the money contained in it in the coming year”.
The residents of Vidin will welcome Christmas Eve with their families, as tradition dictates. They primarily desire health and humility. Noand the table must necessarily have boiled wheat, boiled beans, sarmi with rice or bulgur. Garlic, onion, fresh fruit are placed next to them.
In Pernishko the table is all lean, with an odd number of banquets. In Pernishko, 7 meals are usually served – as many days as there are in the week or nine – as long as the woman’s pregnancy lasts. The grandmothers set the table on the ground on the straw. The straw was reminiscent of the manger in Bethlehem where the Virgin Mary gave birth. And now in Pernishko there are houses where this tradition is observed. Rituals such as burning the house with incense, taking the first bite of bread for the Mother of God and rolling children in straw are an invariable part of the celebration. Some of them continue the next day: straw is collected and placed in the crotch of fruit trees as part of a fertility ritual.
