When you think of bulgarian culture, the first thing that comes to mind might be the famous kozunakand egg breaking custom. This custom happens before the big Easter meal and involves all family members tapping their eggs against each other until one egg remains unbroken. The person who has the last unbroken egg is believed to have good luck for the year. Another traditional Bulgarian dish is the sweet semolina cake revane. Also known as basbousa, it is commonly eaten for breakfast with a glass of milk or yogurt. It is also a popular dessert for special occasions such as Christmas or New Years.
The Bulgars are well-known for their hospitality and the food they serve is very hearty and satisfying. You will often find yourself served a huge platter of salads and spreads, similar to Greek-style mezze meals. For the main course, you will usually be served a chicken soup or shkembe chorba. This is a very healthy and filling soup, known for healing colds and other inflammatory conditions in the body.
In modern times, Bulgaria has a parliamentary republic with free elections and universal adult suffrage. The president, prime minister and Council of Ministers are all elected by parliament. Local government includes mayors and councilors, and is headed by a regional governor.
Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and NATO. In the past, it was a major producer of coal and steel, and is now a significant energy producer and mineral quarryer. Agriculture and tourism are still important industries in the country.
Although Bulgarians are very tolerant of other cultures, many prefer to keep close to their traditions. They tend to marry by choice and may even resist the influence of their families in the selection of a spouse. However, some groups, such as the Pomaks and the Gypsies, have practiced arranged marriages in the past. Most couples live in monogamous relationships.
Women are granted substantial autonomy in the household and are able to participate equally in the financial decision making process, although they remain responsible for most domestic chores. They lag only slightly behind men in educational achievement. Women are employed in many sectors of the economy, including manufacturing and services, but occupy leadership positions less frequently than men.
The Bulgar language is part of the Eastern group of Slavic languages, and shares a large number of features with other Slavic languages. Like other members of the group, it is a tonal language with three vowels and a diphthong. There are five grammatical moods (indicative, imperative, conditional, subjunctive and renarrative) and seven cases: nouns have grammatical gender and case, while pronouns agree with them in number and gender.
In literature and folklore, images of the peasant, the merchant and craftsman, the entrepreneur, the teacher and the nationalist revolutionary vie with each other as emblems of the true Bulgarian spirit, which combines qualities such as honesty and industry with resourcefulness and ruthlessness. The Bulgarians’ unique humour, especially their brand of black humour, is also widely renowned outside the country.