• +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
✕
One Month With Our New Route
February 2, 2015
Plovdiv is turning into a cultural hotspot
February 24, 2015

St. Valentine’s Day all over the world

Published by freeplovdivtour at February 14, 2015
Categories
  • Traditional Bulgarian
Tags
  • bulgaria
  • Love day
  • Romantic
  • St. Trifon's Day
  • St. Valentine's Day
  • Trifon Zarezan
  • Trifon's Day
  • Valentine's Day
Valentine's day

The Bulgarian equivalent to St. Valentine’s Day in Bulgaria

The romantic tradition of St. Valentine’s Day was set centuries ago. The ancient Romans celebrated ‘The Day of Love’ on 14th February, praying to the Goddess of marriage and motherhood Junona. Unmarried girls wrote letters and put it in a deep box and the man who brought it out became her husband.

St. Valentine's day - women getting maried
St. Valentine’s Day

Nowadays, the holiday is celebrated all over the world.

In Japan and South Korea St. Valentine’s Day dates back to the 1930s. In Japan, only men receive gifts on that day and the holiday for women is on 14th March, named ‘The White Day’. In contrast to Japan, in Korea men celebrate the ‘The Black Day’ on which they gather together and drink alcohol.

Denmark has a different tradition – on 14th February the men give a present of dry white flowers to their loved ones.

dry white flowers - St. Valentine's day
St. Valentine’s Day

Germans associate the day with insanity and consider St. Valentine the protector of mad people – which is why they decorate hospitals for mental diseases on Valentine’s Day.

‘The Day of Love’ is prohibited for the Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

It is strictly forbidden for red roses, toys, and candy in the shape of a heart to be sold.

Muslum Valentine's day
Photo Source: http://www.taringa.net/

The USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and The UK celebrate ‘The Day of Love’ as a national holiday.

marzipan-St.Valentine's day
Photo Source: http://funnfud.blogspot.bg/

The English send love letters not only to their friends and acquaintances but also to their pets. Single women throw pieces of paper in the river. On each piece it is written a man’s name. The first sheet which comes to surface prompts the name of the future bridegroom.

In Wales ‘wooden love spoons’ are made. Hearts, keys and locks are among the most common decorations. The implication is: ‘Unlock your heart for me!’

There is a festival on St. Valentine’s Day in Scotland. The tradition is similar to the one that the English have. Single men and women write their names on pieces of paper and later on, the lot combines them and makes couples.

In the US ‘The Day of Love’ was initially celebrated by the Europeans who settled there in the 17th century. At first, the Americans sent marzipan to their fiancées. (The marzipan actually cost a small fortune at that time.)

During the Gold Rush in Australia there was a custom according to which if someone finds gold on the 14th February, they should pay the ‘valentines’ of all single men in the mine. (Of course, the men asked for amazing post-cards with golden letters, satin, silk and whatever came to their minds!)

The Bulgarian equivalent to St. Valentine’s Day is Trifon Zarezan or The Day of the vine-growers, gardeners and falconers.

The tradition includes kneading dough and boiling a chicken (often filled with rice). With a bag containing a piece of the flat cake, the chicken and wine, men go to the vineyards. This ritual which takes place in the vineyards is called ‘zaryazvane’. Every man cuts three twigs. After that, they pour the wine they brought on the ground. (Such a waste, don’t you think)

The traditional Bulgarian table includes a flat cake, a chicken filled with rice and other traditional dishes.

( For more interesting and informative articles – visit Free Plovdiv Tour’s blog )

Share
0
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

Super Thank you for the very interesting tour. It’s a great deal to make free tours like this. Ms.Adi is a very professional guide.The explanations, the rich historical background, useful… Read more “”

Lovely city We had a great time on this tour. Very informative, a nice overview of the city’s history without going into too much detail and the listeners loosing track/focus!… Read more “”

A good way to discover the city! It,s a very good way to discover the city and the places to see absolutly, especially when you don’t stay a long time… Read more “”

Marvellous and unforgettable Our guide -a student at university of music -was so extremely friendly, knowing so much about history, having such a sensible view of her country and its… Read more “”

its free a free tour taking you right up to the old town , its starts at the information centre by the post office so it is really easy to… 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