Easter in Bulgaria

Traditionally, on the evening of Great and Holy Saturday, the Midnight Office is celebrated shortly after 11:00 p.m. At its completion all light in the church building is extinguished, and all wait in darkness and silence for the stroke of midnight. Then, a new flame is struck in the altar, or the priest lights his candle from the perpetual lamp kept burning there, and he then lights candles held by deacons or other assistants, who then go to light candles held by the congregation. The priest declares the Resurrection with the words: ”Christ has risen!”

Easter eggsEaster eggs

For Orthodox Christians, the Easter egg is much more than a celebration of the ending of the fast, it is a declaration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally, Orthodox Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, and the hard shell of the egg symbolized the sealed Tomb of Christ—the cracking of which symbolized his resurrection from the dead.

Traditionally in Bulgaria, the eggs are painted on Thursday or Saturday before Easter. The first one is always painted in red by the oldest woman in the family. Until it is still hot it is used by the woman to draw a cross sign on children’s foreheads. This rite done, the eggs painting is continued by the younger women in the family.

Easter eggsEaster eggs

Ritual bread

Ritual bread is an unvarying part of the Easter traditions. It is round-shaped and decorated with a lot of interlacing figures. In Bulgaria the tradition says that it has to be made on Thursday before Easter. One of these pita bread has a sweet taste and it’s called “kozunak”.