“Sat the mother of God on a mound to bestow gold and silver. To one she gave with a spoon, to another with a bowl, and to these people here she gave the whole cart! Now, say ye my friends: So be it! (All: "So be it!")”

The Koledari (carol singers) and their Christmas blessings on today's festive day have the "magical" power to bring health, abundance and good luck. The whole village resounds with the boys’ songs as they walk between the houses, and visit each home to give its inhabitants their Christmas blessings.

• Christmas blessings for health and prosperity

And just like the carol singers, we at Radio Bulgaria will now enter your homes with "Christmas Buenek" and "Slow Melody" - two of the latest recordings of the Bulgarian National Radio Folk Music Orchestra conducted by Dimitar Hristov - a special Christmas gift to our listeners from the musicians and the production team of BNR.

Soloist is the famous bagpiper Nedko Tsarev - a brilliant instrumentalist, involved in a number of projects, a long-time teacher at the National School of Arts "Dobri Hristov" - Varna. Nedko Tsarev is also the author of the two pieces written in the style of Bulgarian traditional music. The arrangement is by Angel Dobrev.

Buenek is a boisterous, horo chain dance which is played during Lent. It is danced in a curved line, not in a circle, as is the more usual way of horo dancing. It is performed mostly by young men, who dance with fast small steps, tapping and leading the chain in a weaving line.