• +359 886 993 977
  • info@freeplovdivtour.com
Free Plovdiv TourFree Plovdiv TourFree Plovdiv TourFree Plovdiv Tour
  • About
    • Team
    • Spread the word
    • The Association
  • Free Tours
    • Free Plovdiv Tour
    • Plovdiv Graffiti Tour
    • Plovdiv Socialist Architecture Tour
    • Free Sofia Tour
  • Private Tours
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • F.A.Q.
  • Partners
  • Support us
✕
Palm Sunday In Bulgaria
April 24, 2016
10 Quick Facts about Bulgaria you Might not Know
QUICK FACTS ABOUT BULGARIA
June 4, 2016

“Hristos Voskrese” or Happy Easter from Bulgaria

Published by freeplovdivtour at May 1, 2016
Categories
  • Traditional Bulgarian
Tags
  • Christian
  • Easter
  • egg
  • holiday
  • sweet bread
  • tradition

photo: Dimitra Lefterova

Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays.

Easter is the day when Jesus Christ has risen from the dead – the third day after his crucifixion on Good Friday. The date of the holidays changes every year as it is connected to the first full moon after the coming of the spring. But it’s always on Sunday.

Happy Easter from Bulgaria
photo: Dimitra Lefterova

It is also the holiest day in the Christian calendar (followed by Christmas). Easter is recognized as a legal holiday in most countries with a significant Christian tradition.

The preparation for Easter starts the week before – Holy Week

On Great Thursday all the families paint eggs in different colors, predominantly in red (as a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ). That can be done on Saturday before sunset too. The first egg is always painted red to symbolize the blood of Christ and should be put aside – either to be buried in the fields to ensure fertility or kept in the home to bring good luck.

Happy Easter from Bulgaria
photo: Dimitra Lefterova

Together with the eggs, people make Easter bread – sweet bread filled with raisins, walnuts or chocolate. In Bulgaria, we call it Kozunak. The recipe for sweetened or “honey-leavened” bread may date back as far as the Homeric Greek period based on anecdotal evidence from classical texts that mention this type of special food. It is also widely known that sweetened bread desserts similar to panettone were a Roman favorite.

Happy Easter from Bulgaria
photo: sladea.bg

On Friday people go to church. According to the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition, they should pass under the table in the church for good health. The fasting on this day is especially strict – believers must not drink even water.

On Saturday at midnight, the real celebration starts

There is a holy liturgy in the churches and hundreds of people gather. At midnight they greet each other with the words: “Christ has risen” – “Hristos Voskrese”. The answer that follows is: “He has risen indeed” – “Voistina Voskrese”. After this everyone tries to go around the church three consecutive times and if their candle remains lit the whole time, this means that all their sins are forgiven and they take the flame home.

Happy Easter from Bulgaria
Easter 2019

In the end friends and families gather, eat kozunak and perform a special kind of game with the painted eggs. It’s called egg-tapping or egg-fighting. The rules are pretty simple. One tries to knock the competitor’s egg by using his own egg. In the end, the person whose egg remains unbroken is said to be the winner and will be fortunate and healthy the whole year.

On behalf of the 365 Association and the Free Plovdiv Tour team, Happy Easter and may you have the strongest eggs!

Happy Easter from Bulgaria
Free Plovdiv Tour Easter
Share
1
freeplovdivtour
freeplovdivtour

Related posts

photo: Dimitra Lefterova

March 2, 2021

Significant places associated with the Liberation of Bulgaria – Part 1


Read more

Casting a bullet, photo: pzdnes.com

September 28, 2020

Bulgarian superstitions and curious traditions – Part 2


Read more
September 16, 2020

Bulgarian autumn – colorful fairytale near Plovdiv


Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • TripAdvisor

Although we had been in the city for a few days, we took the tour and learnt much more and went to places we hadn’t been. Chris was enthusiastic about… Read more “”

Dani’s warm welcome on the Plovdiv tour At the very moment I learnt about the Free Sofia tour Association, I got quite eager to visit one of their tours. I… Read more “”

Great way to learn history and see the city Our family takes every Free Walking Tour in every city we visit. The tour guides are always knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.… Read more “”

Gotta do it! We learned of this tour from the guesthouse we stayed at. It is well worth your time for great insight to the history of Bulgaria and Plovdiv.… Read more “”

Plovdiv old town tour I’ve attended to a Plovdiv old town tour guided by Kathy ( Katherina) . I really enjoyed the tour, it took aprx. 2 hours. Kathy was… Read more “”

CONTACTS

+359 886 993 977

info@freeplovdivtour.com

WRITE A REVIEW ABOUT US
HTML Sitemap
FIND US IN

FOLLOW US

© 2023 Betheme by Muffin group | All Rights Reserved | Powered by WordPress