Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Christmas Eve in traditional Bulgarian culture

Photo: Archive

The night before Christ's Nativity in Bulgarian folklore culture is known by several names. Of course, most often we call it Christmas Eve, and the main meaning of the traditions and rituals of the holiday is well-known - it is a holiday of humility, gratitude and hope. ‎

On this day, Bulgarians gather around the traditional table to share the warmth of the home hearth, the ritual table, the feeling of belonging to some ancient sacrament. And if during most days of the year we look for the different and the new, on Christmas Eve we try to repeat the tradition as we have inherited it.

Read more about the rituals on this day in the article from Radio Bulgaria's Best Collection entitled Christmas Eve, a major family occasion.





Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

On Epiphany, God hears the prayers of the faithful and the Holy Spirit sanctifies the water

On January 6, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of the greatest Christian feasts called Epiphany, Yordanovden, or the Baptism of Lord. This is the day on which St. John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Epiphany is also..

published on 1/6/25 10:21 AM

A gift for a gift – ritual breads and an odd number of dishes on Christmas Eve

Nowadays, as in the past, households are bustling with a festive hustle from the early morning of the day of Christmas eve (Badni vecher in Bulgarian) with preparations for the most important dinner of the year. The dinner in anticipation of Christmas..

published on 12/24/24 4:05 AM

Bulgaria marks 145 years since the first Christmas tree was decorated

The first modern Christmas was celebrated in Bulgaria in 1879. It followed a European model with a Christmas tree, ice skating and gifts. At that time, the young Alexander Battenberg, who had just become the Prince of Bulgaria, took it upon..

published on 12/23/24 3:11 PM