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

Roma begin three days of New Year celebrations

Photo: BGNES

The Roma New Year celebrations begin tonight and will last for three days. For the Roma people, Vasilitsa, or better known as Bango Vasil (literally "limping Vasil"), is perhaps the most revered family holiday.

Families gather for dinner, the houses are locked and no one is allowed to go outside. On the table are roast chicken, cake, boule bread with a penny hidden in it (to bring wealth to whoever gets the piece with the coin) and sarmi (dolmas) with lucky charms of dogwood buds. At midnight, when the New Year begins, the doors of the house are opened to guests. But first the children have to greet the adults and wish them good health and happiness.

 According to legend, Bango Vasil is Saint Basil the Great - he came to the rescue and rebuilt a bridge destroyed by the devil so that the Roma could cross it. He became their saint and patron saint.



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

The Bulgarian Embassy in Tokyo hosts Rose Water Recipe Award contest

The final round of the twelfth edition of the Rose Water Recipe Award was hosted by the Bulgarian Embassy in Tokyo. According to a Facebook post by the diplomatic mission in Japan, the competition was organised by the Bulgarian Rose Cultural..

published on 11/20/25 1:54 PM

Million-euro cultural artefact smuggling ring busted in Bulgaria

A huge criminal network trafficking cultural artefacts and laundering money has been dismantled by the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office, the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP), Europol, and the Italian Carabinieri , BGNES reported...

published on 11/20/25 1:39 PM

GERB offers Christmas bonuses for pensioners

GERB will offer Christmas bonuses for pensioners in the amount of 120 lev (61.36 euro), party leader Boyko Borissov said on the sidelines of parliament. According to him, funds for pensioners will be found in the state budget...

published on 11/20/25 11:34 AM