Fifty heroes are drinking wine, or about grapes and wine in Bulgarian folklore

Listen

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.

Grapes and wine occupy an important place not only on the Bulgarian table, but in the spiritual world of Bulgarians. In some Apocrypha it is precisely the vine instead of the apple that is indicated as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree that grew in the Garden of Eden, causing the temptation and fall of the first human beings. According to legend, the Lord Himself created the grapes, and the devil, trying unsuccessfully to imitate Him, created the blackberry. Both fruits ripen at the same time in late summer, but it is believed that we should not eat blackberries before we have tried grapes as otherwise we might fall under the power of the devil.

Folk tales tell of magic grapes, transforming people into donkeys and another type of grapes that returns their human appearance. A clever young lad used this property to teach a good lesson to the king's treacherous daughter who tried to deceive him. Miraculous grapes can be found not only in fairy tales: today in the courtyard of the Rozhen Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Melnik, an old vine grows whose fruit is believed to help barren women conceive. Many devotees take the extraordinary beans, and later return to the monastery with gifts of gratitude.

The ritual significance of grapes is evidenced by the fact that the entire production cycle is marked by celebrations and prohibitions. Grapes should not be eaten before the Transfiguration of Christ (August 6). On this day the first picked grape are taken to the church to be blessed and only then is eating grapes allowed. On the feast of Seknovenie, or the beheading of Saint John the Baptist) on August 29 all red food and drink is banned because of the blood shed by the saint – that’s why on the table people should have only white wine and white grapes. The vintage (grape-picking) traditionally begins on the day of the Holy Cross (September 14).

However, the most important role in the ritual cycle of wine makers and vine growers has the day of St. Trifon celebrated on February 1 or the 14th, when the cutting of vines starts. Probably due to its proximity in the calendar, the Christian saint has assumed the characteristic traits of an ancient pagan deity, patron of grapes and wine such as Dionysus. Thus the meek and pious young man who died as a martyr for the Christian faith received nicknames like Trifon the Pruner and Trifon the Drunkard, he is depicted on icons with pruning shears in hand, and his feast is accompanied by lush festivities and ritual drinking of all participants.

The attitude towards wine in Bulgarian folklore is two-fold, as demonstrated by the adage, "Blessed wine, damn drunkenness", and two humorous names for wine "making a house merry" and "crack your head". On one hand, wine is considered as a symbol of Christ's blood, so Bulgarians respect and honor it along with the bread. It is believed that bread and wine cannot be used to cast spells: devils were believed to be scared away by them. Before drinking wine, everyone is bound to make the sign of the cross first and then take the glass. Significantly wine accompanies man in the most important moments of his lifetime. It is known that a wedding cannot go without dancing and without wine. Before getting into their new home, newlyweds have to drink wine to order to live in love and harmony. For a less painful labor, young mothers are given some wine to drink, and the child symbolically is given some wine by the fire to be healthy and have rosy cheeks. Wine is also present in death-related rituals – wine is poured onto the grave to appease the earth so it would accept the dead person into its bowels.

On the other hand, folklore texts warn of the dangers of excessive drinking, such as the saying "Even the madman stays away from a drunk man”, also "A drunk man is like a torn bag". The controversial nature of wine is explained in the legend of Noah who planted the first vineyard. He poured blood onto the vines hence the red color of wine. The blood was taken from three animals – a lamb, a lion and a boar. That's why those who drink little become as meek as a lamb; those who drink more become as courageous and heroic as a lion, and those who fill their cups without measure behave like a pig wallowing in the mud and become a laughingstock to everyone Perhaps precisely this lion nature of wine is the reason why it is regarded as an inalienable attribute of the mighty hero in Bulgarian folk epics. Many songs start with an opening scene, in which the young lads are sitting in the cool spacious pubs drinking sparkling red wine before heading to the heroic feats: fighting with dragons and alien foes or saving a young maiden in danger or enslaved peasants. Sometimes the rivalry between the characters takes the form of a drinking contest as the biggest hero in Bulgaria folklore Krali Marko is praised as a "drunkard" who can drink three barrels of wine".

The important place of the vine and grapes as symbols of beauty and fertility is reflected in first names such as Grozdan and Grozdanka (from “grozde” meaning grapes), Lozan and Lozanka or Lozinka (from “loza” meaning vine) and several villages in Bulgaria have names associated with wine (in Bulgarian “vino”), these are Vinarovo, Vinarsko, Vinnitsa, Vinishte, Vinograd, Vinogradi , Vinogradets.

English Rossitsa Petcova

Share

Fifty heroes are drinking wine, or about grapes and wine in Bulgarian folklore

More from category

The secrets of white halva and how a dessert preserves old Bulgarian customs

Folklore meeting in Bulgaria's Dobrich brings together different communities for the International Day of Tolerance

Bulgarian dance group Vito Horo takes part in multicultural women’s festival Harmony of Colours in Perth

The secrets of white halva and how a dessert preserves old Bulgarian customs