Town Holiday!

Sunday was a big day in my town and around Bulgaria - the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, creators of the Cyrillic Alphabet. Born in Thessaloniki, Cyril and Methodius came to Bulgaria as missionaries and created the alphabet as a way to introduce Christianity to the Slavic people. To do this they needed a written language that reflected the different sounds of the Slavic languages of the time. Using some Greek letters, and also inventing some new letters they came up with the Glagolitic alphabet, which eventually transformed into the Cyrillic that many countries use today.


When Preslav was the capital of Bulgaria during its Golden Age, there was a great literary school that contributed much of the great historical literature of the country. Without Cyril and Methodius, much of the expansion that Bulgaria experienced probably never would have happened. Since this alphabet directly contributed so much to the development of Veliki Preslav (and to Bulgaria for that matter), the town celebrates it as its town holiday.

Today, the festival is somewhat removed from celebrating the contributions of Cyril and Methodius, and more an excuse to have a carnival come into town. The day kicked off in the center with a short presentation by the mayor, and a wreath-laying at the statue of Czar Simeon (the king of Bulgaria when Preslav was the capital and throughout its Golden Age). After that various groups put on singing and dancing presentations for about another hour.


When the presentation was over, it was off to the carnival, conveniently set up next to the pazar up the street. This was one of the most ridiculous, yet fun times I’ve had in town so far. Firstly, the weekly pazar (outdoor market) was expanded and included merchants from all around the region, and even some from some other cities selling everything you could imagine from clothes, to random gadgets, to chalga. Next to the market, crammed into a tiny square, were several rides that can only be described as deathtraps, some rip-off games, and several ponichki stands.

A word about ponichki: I think the nearest approximation would be little donuts, but to call them just "little donuts" would be a crime. These Bulgarian versions are fried not only in hot oil, but also a mixture of dreams, puppy kisses, and children's laughter, then drizzled with chocolate sauce and served directly to you fresh and warm in a little basket with a tiny fork. Pretty much the best and worst food ever created…

A little ways further up the road towards the school and the orphanage was located a giant inflatable slide and a dirt buggy track. Actually "track" is probably a bit of an exaggeration (more like a tiny circle of anti-fun and dust) but the allure of it brought the kids in anyway. I was almost snared as well, but luckily those tricky Peace Corps rules saved me from certain doom (PC rule 537: No driving anything ever. Sometimes donkey carts, maybe).

To my surprise, the children from the orphanage were allowed free rides on many of the attractions present, which made for a great weekend for them. As for me, I just had a good time hanging out and watching the people pass by on what was undoubtedly the most crowded I have ever seen my town. It seemed that most of the people from town were there, and for the first time that I can remember, the town actually felt as big as people tell me it is.

Until next time…