EASTER IN BULGARIA

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ!ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ!

Easter is one of the most significant holidays in the Bulgarian calendar. Starting with Palm Sunday, the holy week leads up to the Great Day.

In the country, the festival is popularly known as "Velikden", which literally means 'the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ'

VELIKDEN

Easter traditions in Bulgaria are a derivative of the Eastern Orthodox Church rituals. In tune with worldwide Orthodox traditions, bright red colored eggs and Easter breads known as "kozunak" are the prominent symbols of Easter in Bulgaria.

The Holy week is the last week of the Lent. It begins with the observance of Palm Sunday. The name, Palm Sunday originated from Jesus's entry in Jerusalem.

VELIKDENVELIKDEN

Monday to WednesdayMonday to Wednesday

The days between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday are known as Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday.

• In Bulgaria these days are intended to be days for house cleaning. This cleaning has a symbolic purifying character.

Holy ThursdayHoly Thursdayin Bulgariain Bulgaria

Traditionally in Bulgaria, the eggs are painted on Holy Thursday or Holy Saturday. The first one is always painted in red by the oldest woman in the family. Until it is still hot it is used by the woman to draw a cross sign on children’s foreheads. This rite done, the eggs painting is continued by the younger women in the family

Easter SundayEaster SundayAt midnight on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, people in Bulgaria gather at church, with red painted eggs and bread. The priest proclaims three times "Christos Voskrese" (Christ has risen) and the congregation replies "Vo istina voskrese" (Indeed he has risen). One of the Easter breads is specially decorated with one or more (but an odd number) of red eggs. After a special sequence of services, the clergy blesses the breads and eggs brought by the people.

They then walk around the church three times with candles in hand, led by the priest. The candles are

carried back home.

Good Luck CrackGood Luck Crack

• The Bulgarian 'good luck crack' is a unique Easter tradition in Bulgaria. Eggs are cracked after the midnight service and over the next few days, during the festive season of Easter. On Easter, the eggs are cracked before lunch. The egg that is cracked on the wall of the church is the first egg that people eat after the long fast of Lent. People take turns in tapping their eggs against the eggs of others, and the person who ends up with the last unbroken egg is believed to have a year of good luck. He/she is considered as the most successful, healthy and happy person for the rest of the year.

Easter SundayEaster Sunday

On Sunday, because Lent is over, the tradition is to have a table laden with food, the most important of which is lamb. In Eastern Europe, this is particularly important, as Orthodox believers relate it to the death of Jesus Christ, because a lamb is believed to have been sacrificed in the name of Christ on Resurrection Day.

Easter KozunakRitual bread is an unvarying part of the Easter traditions. It is round-shaped and decorated with a lot of interlacing figures. In Bulgaria the tradition says that it has to be made on Thursday before Easter. One of these pita bread has a sweet taste and it’s called “kozunak

Look at our Easter Look at our Easter exhibitionexhibition at schoolat school

We love Easter!We love Easter!