Origin and History of Easter in Bulgaria
The Republic of Bulgaria is located in South Europe. This striking country has an amazing blend of various cultures and boasts of a rich heritage of splendid history. The glorious history has witnessed many ancient civilizations, like Greeks, Romans, and Thracians, whose enormous impact can be seen through its culture as well. Bulgaria practices Christianity and follows the Orthodox Eastern Church since ages. Bulgaria celebrates this holy festival of Easter with immense splendor and grandeur. Easter celebrations are marked by red colored eggs, special breads, midnight service, and breaking eggs for good luck. The custom of greeting can be seen through an orthodox Paschal greeting, "Christ is Risen!" which is exchanged with a warm reply by the followers "Indeed, He is Risen". We can say that Easter celebrations in Bulgaria are indeed observed with grand gusto and dedication.
Local name: Velikden
Ways to celeberate Velikden in Bulgaria
The holy festival of Easter is named as “Velikden” in Bulgaria which literally mean “faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ’. Easter celebrations in Bulgaria are highly influenced by Easter traditions of the Orthodox Eastern Church. The notable feature of this tradition follows coloring eggs in bright red color and using specialized Easter breads, known as "kolache" or "kozunak". These red colored eggs depict the blood of Jesus Christ. There are four prominent events of Congregation, Good Luck Crack, Easter presents, and Traditional lavish Easter Feast that complete Easter celebrations in Bulgaria. The most unique tradition is cracking eggs after the midnight service that are later eaten by people after breaking their Lent fast. Before Easter, they send presents to their loved ones that contain a loaf of bread and 10-15 red colored eggs. A traditional feast of Bulgarian Easter includes hot Banitsa’s, palachinki (a type of pancake), Baklava, Lamb drob sarma, and wine kebab.
