🇧🇬 Wedding traditions of Bulgaria
13 traditions from Bulgaria, best known first, across 3 cities and towns.
A wedding in Bulgaria, stage by stage
The customs written up so far, in the order a wedding unfolds.
Cities, towns and villages of Bulgaria
🇭🇺 Hungary and 5 moreCsárdás
A Hungarian folk dance that begins slowly and ends with a fast spin.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreBulgarian wedding musicсватбарска музика
Fast-paced instrumental music played at Bulgarian weddings that blends folk, Romani, and Turkish styles.Performance · The ceremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 4 moreKorovaiкоровай (Ukrainian), каравай (Russian), кравай (Bulgarian)
A large round braided bread shared at weddings to bless the couple and unite the community.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇷🇴 Romania and 7 moreHorahora (Romanian), horo (Bulgarian), oro (Macedonian), horah (Hebrew)
A circle dance held at weddings across Southeast Europe and among Jewish communities worldwide.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇷🇴 Romania and 4 moreCălușariCălușarii
A traditional Romanian spring dance and male society known for acrobatic leaps and ritual healing.Performance · The weeks before
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreČočekčočек (Serbian/Macedonian), кючек (Bulgarian), çyçek/qyqek (Albanian), sistemul (Romanian), Tsifteteli (Greek)
A Balkan wedding dance with a distinctive nine-beat rhythm, kept alive by Romani musicians and village celebrations.Performance · The wedding feast
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreKarsilamaskarşılama (Turkish), καρσιλαμάς (Greek)
A face-to-face folk dance in 9/8 time that marks the joy of wedding gatherings across the Aegean.Performance · The wedding feast
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Čoček: Модернист, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bulgarian wedding music: Allen Ruttenberg, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bread and salt: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Karsilamas: Maximilian Dörrbecker ( Chumwa ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Csárdás: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Călușari: El bes, CC BY 3.0, source