Gabrovo is the only place in Bulgaria, where people send off the old year on the 30^th of December instead of the 31^st.

At 7 PM tonight, in Gabrovo’s Vazrazhdane square, people will get together to send the old year off as a dear guest, remember the good things it has brought and accumulate some good cheer for the next 366 days.

• In 2022: Gabrovo residents celebrate the New Year frugally on December 30

The “Under the stars of Gabrovo” concert will feature the musicians from the bands P.I.F., Slang and REWIND. “One day before New Year’s night, people in Gabrovo are even more enthusiastic and ready to party together in the square, and share the day under the stars, but on New Year’s night they prefer to be home with their families,” says Gabrovo mayor Tanya Hristova in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. But there is another explanation as to why people in Gabrovo are apt to celebrate the New Year on 30 December – a small detail that is very important to the notoriously thrifty people in this city – the royalties for the performers are much lower than they would be on New Year’s night.