Holiday season past and present

Before moving back to our travel organising and preparation, here’s one last post related to the holiday season that just vanished into the new year.

We usually take the Xmas tree down mid January, after the Orthodox Christmas celebration. This year? Well we just took it down. That’s because I’ve got Alex’s cold and been under the weather since yesterday. My body wants to be in bed and my brain is a mush. But my drive to do something is still alive. Et voila! The tree is back in its home in the crawlspace.

So why do we celebrate Xmas Eve the way we do? It is a kind of adopted tradition, or sooner created to match our family mix.

Back in my homeland when the kids were little there was no Xmas and Santa Claus. Religion was banned under the communist regime. Or rather, controlled. I grew up in a secular society. Across the street there was a church. It looked empty and decaying, but in a way, its own way, it was functioning. I was too young to know how exactly. During the day we used to play on the church grounds. And there was no one to be seen going in and out of the building. But I remember that on certain religious holidays (officially banned), my granny would wait until dark and then go across the street to the church. So did other old people. Later on, when a student in Sofia, I remember the times when Alexnader Nevski cathedral was cordoned off by police during religious holidays, allowing only old people in. So, I had never been in a church until after the fall of communism in 1989.

New Year was officially celebrated and it was the big thing. We had a New Year’s tree decorated and Father Frost brought the gifts to the children. We cooked some more formal meals, with the menu dependant on availability in the market.

The geopolitical situation and influences over the Bulgarian Orthodox church are not the subject of this post. However, I remember when Xmas was celebrated on January 7 (Julian calendar) as with all Eastern Orthodox denominations. Then Xmas celebration changed to the Gregorian calendar (1968), but Easter is still celebrated according to the Julian calendar. Go figure!

With the fall of the communist regime in 1989 we were free to celebrate. Religious holidays were introduced as official holidays again. That first year, the radio didn’t stop playing English Xmas songs, since all they probably had recorded in Bulgarian were New Years songs.  And although Xmas Eve in Bulgaria is a special meat free dinner, we decided to celebrate Xmas Eve as my German friend did all these past years with gifts and St. Klaus. And that’s that!

For me it is just a celebration, an occasion to get together with family and friends in the dark cold days just after winter solstice. During the years with Alex we have had a variety of guests who did not celebrate Xmas. It started with the kids bringing their friends from non-Christian backgrounds, and who had nowhere to go that evening. We also included some of our friends. During the years, our Xmas table has hosted a variety of people from different religions, nationalities and colours. For Alex, who hates the commercialism around the Xmas holiday, being able to host so many over the years has been a highlight of the season.