During the Advanced English group lesson on Wednesday night, we talked about different Christmas traditions in Bulgaria. Besides the fortunes papers, coin in bread, odd number of dishes, and survaknitsi, I thought the tradition of burning a budnik (sort of like a yule log) on Christmas Eve was interesting. Young men bring a log from the forest on Christmas Eve morning. This log will be burnt throughout the night and the way it burns will foretell the coming year.
Thursday, my last day in Chiprovtsi before the holidays, was, super busy. I did some last minute gift-wrapping and baking then went to the school for their holiday concert. The students, 1st-8th grade, sang songs, danced, and acted out short skits. They sang four songs in English, but my favorite part was the dance to the “Walk like an Egyptian” song.
In the afternoon, I headed to the kindergarten to watch the kids there perform and see Dyado Koleda (Grandfather Christmas/Santa Claus) deliver presents. It was neat to watch. The kids were excited like Christmas morning. The gifts Santa brought were from the children’s parents who had bought and wrapped them earlier. Surprisingly, it worked extraordinarily well. I couldn’t help but think what might happen if a parent didn’t or wasn’t able to purchase something, or if the kid was really disappointed by their gift. But, nothing of the sort happened; the kids were thrilled with their gifts and Santa did a great job.
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