While the Western world today pays homage to St. Valentine, in Bulgaria we have the opportunity to make a choice in our festive mood and raise a toast to our love of …wine.
Grapes and wine are very closely related to the folk beliefs and customs of Bulgarians. The red elixir is part and parcel of Bulgarians traditions related to all important events in a person's life path - from birth, wedding to death. That is why the ritual which marks the beginning of the cutting of the vineyards and their preparation for the next harvest is still practiced today in all parts of this country.
The first pruning of the vines is done on the day when we honour St. Tryphon. And although today the Orthodox Church does this on February 1st, the majority of people continue to celebrate the date of February 14th in the old style calendar as the Feast of Vine and Wine known here as Trifon Zarezan (Trifon the Pruner).
You can read more about the traditional notions of wine in Bulgarian folklore, the holidays related to wine and the prohibitions related to the cycle of its production in the publication "Fifty heroes are drinking wine" from Radio Bulgaria’s Best collection.
Edited by Vesela Krasteva
English version Rositsa Petcova
When we have a special occasion where we meet relatives or friends, as a sign of respect and as a memory, we usually present them with a gift, complete with a beautiful card. In the past, the card received was kept as a cherished memory and even passed..
Holy Thursday is one of the two days in the Holy Week when we dye eggs for Easter. Tradition dictates that the oldest woman in the family takes on this important task, and the first egg is always dyed red. The Red Egg – symbol of the..
Today, the Bulgarian National Radio’s foreign language service Radio Bulgaria “speaks” 11 languages. Through the years, languages have been added, others have been dropped – something that happened to the Polish-language programmes. They were aired by..
Scattered showers
Cloudy
Mostly Cloudy
Partly cloudy, chance of rain