Bulgarians buy it for breakfast from small bakeries and have it with "айрян"
(a salty yoghurt drink) or "боза"
(a thick, sweet-and-sour grain drink). On New Year's Eve families bake a banitsa with "късмети"
— little paper wishes for luck hidden inside. To order: "Една баница със сирене, моля."
Explore Bulgaria
Banitsa
"Баница"
is thin layered pastry baked with eggs and "сирене"
(white brined cheese).
borzo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
History of Bulgaria
An illustrated history of Bulgaria
Explore Bulgaria
Popo le Chien · CC0 · Source
Shopska salad
"Шопска салата"
— tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onion under a snowy mountain of grated "сирене"
— is the unofficial national dish.
Petko Yotov (user:5ko) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
The martenitsa
On 1 March Bulgarians give each other "мартеници"
— red-and-white tassels or bracelets — with the wish "Честита Баба Марта!"
.
Elena Chochkova · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Grandma March
In folk tradition March is "Баба Марта"
— "Grandma March", a moody old woman.