How it begins
- You don't arrive empty-handed. A bottle of wine, chocolates, flowers (an odd number!) – something.
- You take your shoes off. In many homes the host will hand you slippers. Don't refuse. The slippers are part of the hospitality.
- Salad and rakia. Dinner begins with a salad and a small glass of rakia (fruit brandy) – not before and not after, but together. The soup and the main course wait until the rakia is finished. This can take a while.
The toast
- „Наздраве!“ (Nazdrave, “Cheers!”) is said while looking each other in the eye. If you look at your glass, tradition says seven years of bad luck in love await you. Nobody knows where this rule comes from, but everybody looks into the eyes. Very carefully.
- The first sip is shared. You don't drink before the host has raised his glass.
- Rakia is not downed in one. It is drunk in small sips, slowly, with conversation. Whoever throws it back in one go reveals that he is not from around here – or that he is from around here but has a problem.
The food
- The pitka (festive round bread) is broken by hand at celebrations, not cut with a knife.
- „Хапни си още малко“ (Hapni si oshte malko, “Have a little more”) is not a question. It is an order. The answer „Сит съм“ (Sit sum, “I'm full”) is understood as “A little more, please”.
- Salt and savory. On every table stands sharena sol (“colourful salt”) – a mix of salt, savory and other spices. It goes on bread, on tomatoes and on everything else. If it is missing, something is wrong with the host.
The ending that never ends
The Bulgarian goodbye has several stages:
- „Е, ние ще тръгваме.“ (E, nie shte tragvame, “Well, we'll be off.”) (Nobody gets up.)
- „Айде последна.“ (Aide posledna, “Come on, one last one.”) (Two more are poured.)
- Getting up and talking on one's feet in the living room – twenty minutes.
- Putting on shoes and talking in the hallway – another twenty.
- Talking at the door, on the stairs and by the car. This is where the most important matters are settled.
If you planned to leave at 10 p.m., announce it at 9.
Between us
In Bulgaria guests are also given food to take home. You will leave with a jar of lyutenitsa (roasted pepper and tomato relish), two banitsi and half a cake – whether you wanted them or not. If you refuse, you will find them in your car. The Bulgarian grandmother knows where you park.