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The party is dedicated to the home and the family gathers for dinner.
Today we celebrate Christmas Eve! This is the day before Christmas. According to biblical tradition, the Virgin Mary’s labor pains end on Christmas Eve, which began on the day of Saint Ignatius. The party is dedicated to the home and the family gathers for dinner awaiting the birth of the Son of God. Forty-day Christmas fasts also end on Christmas Eve.
Traditionally, the dishes on the table should be lean and have an odd number: 7 days a week or 9 as the length of the woman’s pregnancy. There are regions in Bulgaria where 11 or 12 dishes are placed on the festive table, as many as the months of the year. They are sarmi, boiled wheat, bell peppers, honey, pumpkin pie, oshav, wine, and more. Each of the dishes on the table has an important symbolism for the Bulgarian.
More and more people order food for Christmas Eve in a restaurant
The ritual breads are of three types: dedicated to Christmas, rural crafts and Christmas carols. They are mixed accompanied by rituals and songs. At dinner, the hostess says a prayer and then the cake is smashed by the silver steam.
In some parts of the country, dogwood is also used for health. The first piece of the cake is left to the Mother of God in front of the icon of the house. It is believed that the luckiest person in the household will be the one to receive the money. According to custom, no one should get up from the table during dinner. Also, the table does not go up after the end, so as not to escape from luck. It is believed that later the dead come to eat.
Spring temperatures the day before Christmas Eve
Before sitting at the table, dinner should be incense. This is a custom in which the oldest man or woman in the house incense the table with incense. After that, the owner goes through all the other rooms and premises in the house. Finally he goes out and walks around the yard and the barn. According to popular belief, the incense ritual drives away evil and unclean forces from the home.
The festive atmosphere of Christmas Eve lasted until Christmas Eve. Christmas carols go through the houses and bless their owners. They surround the houses in groups, always heading east. In each home they sing songs of praise to the owners and good wishes.
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