Culture Thursday (Yes, I Know It's Friday)

On Monday, after my little ones left their morning summer school session with me, I patiently awaited the arrival of my older students so we could practice a little English and play a little volleyball. They didn't show up. Which is odd cuz they have shown up every other day so I just had to chalk it up to Mondays being what they are: the day everyone dreads and tries to avoid if at all possible.

So, I'm just sitting there at the school talking to two of my favorite colleagues (cuz they're super nice and really patient with my Bulgarian) and they tell me that today is a special holiday at the church and would I like to join them. Awesome. Yes, I absolutely would. Thursday is coming up after all.

The празник (holiday) held on August 15 is called "Успение Богородично" or "The Assumption of Mary". This day is also an important "name day" in Bulgaria, the day we celebrate any name connected with Mary: Maria, Marietta, Marianna, Marian, etc. I may have mentioned name days in the past but just to catch you up they are basically like birthdays and people celebrate them by bringing candy to work or school and passing it out to everyone and maybe having a nice lunch or dinner as well. This name day is special because the Eastern Orthodox religion practiced here in Bulgaria believes that this day represents the day Mary passed away and God brought her, body and soul, into heaven. This is a day to visit the church (which most Bulgarians only do on special days like this, Easter, and Christmas) and so that is precisely what we did and I will take you through the steps as they happened:

When we walk up to my villages very small church, the pathway leading up to the front doors is lined with a variety of brightly colored flowers. It's really a beautiful place and the teeny, white church that can fit about 20 people at the most is one of my favorite places in Momin Prohod. We said hello to the babas standing out front and walked inside to the little window that sells candles of all sizes. There are very thin candles for 10 stotinki that apparently only the cheapskates buy cuz we passed right over that very full box and went straight for the 20 stotinki candles (though we could have gone as high as 1 lev if we were feeling really fancy). I purchased 3 candles thinking that I would just group my prayers: my family, my friends, and those I've loved that have passed away. I placed the first two candles here:

I then placed the candle for the dead in a lower candle-holder thingy because those candles are always placed near the ground. There was a man there with his daughter, one of my students actually, and they were both scraping the wax off of the candle-holders (which I'm sure have a real name I just don't know it) and removing candles that were beginning to bend or burn out. My friend, Lenka, told this man I was interested in learning more about the holiday and could he please explain it to me in more detail. He looked at me very skeptically and, despite the fact that Lenka assured him I can understand Bulgarian, spoke almost directly to her the entire time. Which was fine because, to be perfectly honest, he was using the type of vocabulary I am not familiar with and keeping up with him was not an easy task.

As many religious folks do, he did not explain the holiday so much as his religion in general. He asked me about my beliefs though didn't seem too interested in the answers. He possibly saw this as an opportunity to convert me which, being raised a Christian, is something I understand more than he could ever know. After some time, Lenka told him that he was giving me a lot of information and that maybe that was enough for one day.

We left the man and went outside to the baba who was standing near a table at the front of the church. On the table was a ceramic bowl of water and vases full of flowers. She took a handful of white flowers, dipped them in the water, and patted them against each of our heads three times, blessing us in Bulgarian (I have no idea what she was saying). We left a 1 lev coin in front of the picture of Mary and began to walk away. It was then that another baba ran out of the church with a big bouquet of beautiful red, orange, and yellow flowers, handing them to me and telling Lenka, "these are for the American. She has to burn them after they die for good luck." And that's exactly what I plan to do.

This is a very happy holiday for Bulgarians, a day to pray and be blessed and honor an important female saint. I couldn't help imagining what this day would have been like in one of the huge churches in Sofia or one of the beautiful monastaries I visited in the Northwest corner of Bulgaria. These churches have so much history. They seem medieval somehow and the monks inside with their long black robes, tall black hats, and impressively lengthy beards make it seem as though I've traveled back in time. The "nuns" and monks both seem to hide in the deep recesses of the church when it's time to sing. Though "sing" isn't really the right word, it's more of a chant. They chant these long, beautiful, mysterious notes and it echos throughout the whole church and it's literally awe-inspiring. I've never heard anything like it and I would have loved to visit one of these churches on a holiday like "Успение Богородично" and just listen.

-Age