Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

A look at New Year’s traditions for health and prosperity

Photo: library

We are sending off a difficult year, full of unexpected events and changes. In isolation or simply observing social distancing, whether or not theyagree with the measures against the as yet new virus, people are thinking about the future, hoping for better prospects

We, Bulgarians, invariably turn to customs and rituals from the distant past, all the more so on holidays or in difficult moments. We often wonder why this is so. Maybe we want to feel the spirit of the patriarchal way of life, which seems much more orderly in terms of its value system. Or we do it in the hope that the rituals our ancestors believed in will be at least a little bit helpful to us, too.

On the last day of the old year, Radio Bulgaria reminds you of the beliefs and customs associated with crossing the border between the outgoing and the incoming year. You will learn what Bulgarians used to put on the festive New Year’s eve table which should be plentiful and rich, what is the difference between the carol singers (koledari) and the survakari, as well as other important moments of the folklore holiday. 

Read more in the publication "Crossing over from the old to the new year" from the archives of Radio Bulgaria.


Edited by Albena Bezovska



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Yambol immersed in the magic of the Kuker games

Thousands of cowbells of different sizes and shapes filled the streets of Yambol with chiming, jingling and ringing at the 25th International Masquerade Festival "Kukerlandia".  Згдшд  More than two thousand mummers - called kukeri, sourvakari,..

published on 3/17/24 4:16 PM

Martenitsas or Rhodope baynitsas – a symbol of hope for the good things to come

Martenitsas are one of the symbols of Bulgaria – regarded as the harbinger of spring and the end of darkness. Every year, on 1 March, Bulgarians, wherever they may be in the world, give friends and family the red-and-white tassels, as a token of..

published on 3/1/24 7:05 AM

Kichka Savova's songs "come to life" in a virtual national tour

February 22 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Kichka Savova - one of the most significant singers from Bulgaria's Thrace folklore region. All who knew her during her lifetime keep in their hearts the memory of a talented, truly good, bright and..

published on 2/22/24 6:35 AM