Bulgaria is one of the countries of Eastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Warm mild climate (there are a large number of sunny days a year), location on the Black Sea coast (namely the western one), and in addition, an ancient and rich history, an abundance of old buildings and other interesting sights, stunning landscapes with their beauty ... Bulgaria you will find magnificent mountains, and spacious plains, and clear lakes, and noisy waterfalls - all this, of course, attracts tourists from all over the world. However, the resorts of Bulgaria are especially popular with our compatriots. After all, this country, like Russia, is Slavic, which means its culture, mentality of the people, traditions of the population, and language are very close to us. And Bulgaria is located very close to Russia, which greatly facilitates and reduces the cost, which is important, the road to this country.
Of course, interest in the country is manifested in interest in its indigenous population, customs, traditions, and what are the appearance and character of the Bulgarians. The culture of a country is determined by its people. That is why, in order to better know the culture of Bulgaria, we start with a description of the Bulgarians: appearance, character, customs.
A little about Bulgaria itself
It is a relatively small country in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The capital of the state is the ancient (first mentioned in written sources from the eighth century BC) city of Sofia. In general, the history of Bulgaria as a state originates in the seventh century of our era, however, the Bulgarians themselves are mentioned as an ethnos even earlier - already in the year 354 of our era. Also important information for tourists will be information about the national currency of the country; in the country, Bulgarian lev is used to pay for purchases and services.
Population
The name of the country is not accidental, it comes from the name of the first ethnic groups that inhabited the territory of modern Bulgaria - these are the people of the Bulgarians (Bulgars in the old manner). Now the country is home to more than seven million people, the vast majority, namely 84 percent, according to the 2011 census, these are Bulgarians. Turks, gypsies, Russians and Ukrainians also live in the territory. But you can easily distinguish a representative of the indigenous population from a person of a different nationality: the appearance of the Bulgarian (pictured below) is quite characteristic and has its own characteristics. What kind? Read on.
Bulgarians - who are they?
In general, Bulgarians as a people did not always exist. This nationality arose in the Middle Ages by mixing the three main tribes that then lived on the territory of modern Bulgaria. The Bulgars, the southern Slavs and the Thracians laid the foundation for the new people. Now you can meet the Bulgarians not only in their homeland, quite a large number of representatives of this nation live in Moldova and Serbia, in Ukraine and Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary and even the United States of America.
What men look like
The appearance of the Bulgarians, in fact, is typical of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, but this nationality has its own special features that are characteristic only of its representatives. In order to imagine a typical Bulgarian, one does not have to go far. Remember what the famous Russian artist Philip Kirkorov looks like (yes, he is Bulgarian by nationality if someone did not know). The main signs of the appearance of the Bulgarians are dark, almost black, sometimes even with a tinge of blue hair, dark brown eyes with a round shape, lips are often puffy. The skin, which corresponds to living in a southern climate, is dark-skinned. It would seem that handsome Bulgarians are a paradise for a free girl who came to relax in one of the resorts. However, often the appearance of Bulgarian men has such a drawback, or rather, excess - overweight, this is especially noticeable due to the relatively small growth of the average representative of the country.
What women look like
But girls from Bulgaria rarely suffer from fullness and gain extra pounds, often only with age. Their figure resembles a guitar: a magnificent bust, a narrow waist and mouth-watering hips. In general, the distinguishing features of the appearance of Bulgarian women differ little from the appearance of men: all the same dark eyes and dark skin. All the same black as pitch, smooth and shiny hair (a matter of pride). Radina Kardzhilova, actress (starred in films such as Universal Soldier 3: Renaissance, Displacement), is a vivid example of the typical appearance of the Bulgarians.
Beauty secrets
The beauty and attractiveness of Bulgarian girls is largely determined by the favorable climate in which they live. Sea air moisturizes sunburned skin, a large amount of vitamin D entering the body along with the sun's rays, also contributes to the healthy state of hair, nails, the body as a whole. Affects beauty and diet: the kitchen contains many dishes of vegetables and fruits, rich in vitamins.
Women's Bulgarian national costume ...
The appearance of the Bulgarians is not only special features of the face and figure, but also a national costume. Even in olden times, many Europeans who visited sunny Bulgaria noted how much attention they pay here to their attire. Even simple, poor peasants sought to dress as smartly as possible. And what happened during the holidays ... It is difficult to imagine all the brightness and richness of colors, the abundance of jewelry, the originality and intricacy of embroideries traditionally used in the manufacture of costumes for both women and men.
The main component of the women's national costume is the sukman, that is, a sundress that the girls wore over the lower body shirt. Sukman had many options for style and decoration, depending not only on the financial capabilities and imagination of who wore it, but also on the region in which she lived. Each region of Bulgaria had its own specific features of the costume, which are not repeated in any region. Therefore, according to the sundress, it was possible to determine not only the affluence of the woman and her skills in needlework and sewing, but also where she came from.
An important part of the female outfit was the apron. It was decorated with embroidery, ribbons, beads. At the same time, embroidery was designed not only to decorate, but to protect the hostess. Plant and animal ornaments, the most common in Slavic patterns, always carried additional semantic load.
Mandatory for a married Bulgarian was a headdress - either a handkerchief painted according to the Slavic tradition, or an prostitute - a dress similar to a kokoshnik, decorated with coins in an oriental manner. Also from the Turks, Bulgarian girls borrowed a love for jewelry - rings, earrings, necklaces. The more, the more massive and heavier, the better, the more attractive and wealthy you will look. It is noteworthy that in jewelry, grinders prefer blue and blue colors. This is also a Turkish tradition: Eastern girls believed that these shades scare away evil spirits.
... and men's suit
The men's national costume of the Bulgarians existed in two main versions: this is a mundane robe, for work, everyday wear - black-walled. What was its peculiarity can be understood from the name - all the clothes were mostly of dark tones (the choice fell on dark colors for reasons of practicality of use). The second version of the men's suit, as you probably already guessed, is white-light - festive, bright clothes. In such a suit, the typical appearance of the Bulgarians (recall, dark eyes, black hair, dark skin) looked especially impressive and bright.
The important parts of the men's wardrobe were the belt, necessarily embroidered with bright threads (again, like the girls, the embroidery was protective in nature), and the vest - also decorated with ribbons, embroidery, braid. Like girls, men, especially young ones, had a love of decor, bright and unusual decoration of their clothes.
Character features of the Bulgarians
It is clear that such bright, dapper suits could not appear in some gloomy Finland or prim England. The abundance of jewelry, the color diversity of the costume was determined, of course, by the special national character traits of the Bulgarians. Like all representatives of the Balkans, these people are very hospitable, but at the same time proud, impulsive, but outgoing in their grievances.
No wonder they say that appearance and character are interconnected. Bulgarian men, for example, often suffer from fullness, and by the way, here you can see the national trait. Men here are often infantile, a little lazy. In a typical Bulgarian family, as a rule, a woman rules everything, it’s not for nothing that the popular expression has appeared that a man needs to choose a mother-in-law, not a wife, and for girls, first look after a good mother-in-law, and then get acquainted with her son.
But, in addition to jokes, in Bulgaria they attach great importance to the family and pay much attention to raising children. It is traditional for the Bulgarians to jointly celebrate any special events, for holidays - large and not very - several generations of the family gather at the big table. Let us pay attention to the fact that, like Russians, Bulgarians prefer gatherings at a plentiful table - the love of delicious food cannot be taken away from them (which affects the appearance of the Bulgarians), in addition, a hospitable table testifies to the hospitality of the owners of the house, their cordiality and friendliness .