Velikden

After painting eggs, I was reminded by my coworkers to go to the center for the big Velikden (Easter - literally "Great Day") midnight mass, and that this was something I shouldn’t miss. Not wanting to pass up a good look at another tradition, I said I’d be there. At about 11pm my sitemate and I headed down to the center where the big church in town is. People were slowly congregating in and around the church, and others were just hanging out at the café nearby. Seemed just like a normal night, maybe with just a few more people.

At 11:30, the church bells started ringing as a call that the service was about to start. Everyone filed into the little church, and the priest started singing his prayers. Incense was lit while the curtain hiding the altar was moved away. At that moment, a small path was made through the middle of the church. In Bulgarian churches there are often no chairs, and so there were a ton of people in there. The priest then made his way down this makeshift aisle with a giant bundle of candles. I recognized this tradition as being similar to the tradition of the Paschal candle in Western liturgy. This orthodox one was a bit different: 3 candles bundled together, creating one large flame at the top - a powerful symbol for sure. The deacon also carried a large single red candle as he led the procession.

As the priest made his way down the aisle, people from all around started reaching over to light their own candles from the paschal candle. Since I was on the aisle I reached out and lit a candle as the priest sang something in Old Bulgarian. As the priest reached the door, the aisle that had formed quickly collapsed and people made their way outside. There, it seemed as though the entire town had gathered around the church, and everyone had a candle and was lighting it from the original. After about 10 minutes, the entire center was glowing with candlelight.

The priest carried on his liturgy, as old babas responded by singing “Gospodin pomilo” and “Amin” (I think “Lord merciful” and “amen” respectively). Then the singing stopped and the priest shouted to the crowd “Isus Vozkresus” (Jesus is risen) to the clanging of the church bells. I don’t know if it was the hundreds of candles around or what, but there was something very magical in that moment. For a couple of minutes at least, it seemed that everyone in town was content. Even the stern, usually unsmiling babas had a look of joy. It was one of those moments during my service here in BG that I will never forget.

The priests wrapping up the service outside:

Ring the bells - it's officially Velikden:

But this wasn’t the end, as it would have been after a service back in the States. In Bulgaria it seems as though there’s always something during each holiday that will grant you health and luck for the year and absolve you of your sins. In this case, the gathered crowd had to make 3 laps around the outside of the church while keeping their candles lit. If successful, you will be washed of your sins and have a healthy year. Some people even had strategies to prevent their candle from going out in the night breeze. I saw a lot of yogurt containers being made into makeshift shields to block out the wind. This was serious business.

As for me, I took my regular little candle and just made the laps bez extra protection. When a breeze picked up I moved my hand over the flame and that seemed to work just fine. I made my way around the church three times along with the rest of the crowd (it seemed as though most people were successful). Everyone then placed what was left of their candles in the gardens around the church to burn out.

I think a pretty large group went to the discotek right after - a fitting activity to do with one's newly renewed sanctity. As for myself, I returned home and fell asleep pretty quickly. The next day I woke up and ate my first taste of Kozunak. This is pretty much a giant muffin filled with jelly that is traditional to eat on Easter, along with the eggs. I got three of them - one from the awesome Yasli staff, one from my landlord, and another from my baba next door. Needless to say, it was delicious and prepared me for a week full of more Easter festivities.

Until next time...