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Bulgarian History

Find Bulgaria on a map.  Its location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia is the source of much of its history.  Before 681 AD many groups of people controlled this important land bridge. They included the Tracians, Greeks and Romans as well as Slavic and Bulgarian peoples.  All of them left their mark on Bulgaria.  In 681 Bulgaria became a unified state and a center of Slavic culture.  The Slavic peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples living mainly in central and eastern Europe. Slavic peoples are classified geographically and linguistically into West Slavic, East Slavic, and South Slavic which includes Bulgaria.

Several times in Bulgarian history, the Bulgarian state or empire grew to dominate the Balkan area of South East Europe with its empire growing to around 3 times the size of modern Bulgaria.  The Bulgarian Empires were a major power against the dominance of the Byzantine and later Arab empires to the south.  The period of the major Bulgarian empires was between 700 AD and 1400 AD.

Geography:

Bulgaria is has mountains (the Balkans) Rivers (the Danube) and a sea coast (the Black Sea).  Bulgaria is full of rivers, over 500 of them and this keeps the country very green in spring and summer.  Bulgaria has seasons, like much of the United States.

Bulgaria also has large mineral deposits and this is one of Bulgaria’s major industries.  The one thing that it does not have is oil or gas reserves.   Bulgaria uses alternatives such as solar, thermal, wind and nuclear to make up for some of its lack of oil and gas.

Religion
The majority of Bulgarian people belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.  The Eastern Orthodox churches are Christian churches that had their founding when the Roman Emperor Constantine left Rome and established a new capital which he named after himself: Constantinople in 320 AD and a new branch of the Christian church. The Bulgarian church became independent of the Constantinople church in 927 AD and has been independent ever since.

Modern Bulgaria

Modern Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy. It has a Prime Minister and a President and one legislature.  Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and NATO as well as the United Nations. Bulgaria’s population is 7.6 million people.

Bulgaria is still a growing economy.  Its average income per person is 40 % of the European average and its total economy is the smallest of the European Union.

SCHOOLS

The Bulgarian school system is much like the system in the United States.   The school day and the school year are very similar to ours.  One difference is that mandatory education is only between ages 7 and 16.  However it is very common for younger children to go to preschool.  After age 16 students go on the secondary schools after passing examinations.

Bulgaria values education. According to the United Nations, Bulgarian school kids rank second in the world in both SAT and IQ scores.  Smart !!!!

SPORTS

Like much of the rest of the world, the favorite sport in Bulgaria is soccer.   Bulgarians also love volleyball and gymnastics. Recently Sumo wrestling has become popular in Bulgaria.

FOOD

Traditional Bulgarian menus will often have things like Bulgarian feta cheeses, meats, yogurt, and different vegetables. Cabbage rolls and stuffed vegetables are very popular as well as rich, hearty stews. In Bulgaria salads start the meal and contain cabbage instead of lettuce. The Bulgarian dessert Garash is a cake made of ground walnuts and frosted with chocolate icing.

GAMES

Bulgaria has two very popular video game developers and the two most popular video games are based on history.  Bulgarians are proud of their history and this shows up in their choice of video games.

TECHNOLOGY

With Bulgaria’s strong education system it is no wonder that the country is one of the leaders in Europe in technology development.  Bulgaria is often called the “Silicon Valley of Europe”. Bulgaria is home to one of the largest supercomputers in the world.

Customs and holidays:

Carol singers called Koledari dance from house to house on Christmas Eve carrying a Koledarka which is a carved decorated art stick. They wear hats decorated with flowers and popcorn and are given wine, bread and cheese is given to them in return for their singing.

On New Year’s Souvakari are masked dancers who wear coats made of goat skin or “tatters” and pointed hats around six feet high. They have large bells tied around their waists which clang loudly as they move. They carry wooden swords and a decorated cornel twig called a sourvachka. Around the New Year groups of 7 to 9 people travel around from house to house and wish people good health.

March 1st, Martenitza symbolizes the end of winter and the coming of spring. Original Martinitzas were made of white and red woolen thread to which a silver or gold coin was tied. On March 1st martinitzas are tied on trees, house doors, cars or young animals. The red and white colors symbolize the snow and the blood. This derives from an old story where a stork brings the blessing of good health to children from their parents, who are far away. The arrival of the stork symbolizes that spring has arrived.

PETS

People in Bulgaria seem to have just about the same pets as Americans, dogs, cats, and birds, as well as snakes, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, turtles, and ferrets.

MARRIAGES

Most weddings in Bulgaria take place on a Sunday and the following Thursday is when the bride’s mother performs the kneading of the bread, the rising of the dough symbolizes the rise of a new family. On the morning of the wedding the groom’s family and friends gather at his home. His friends pour barley over him and fire rifles into the air to ward off any evil spirits. It is considered good luck for the bride and the groom to each step into the church with their right foot first. Once the official wedding papers are signed another wedding custom is the “stepping.” Whoever steps on the other’s foot first will be dominate and provide for the new family.