site.btaChristmas Eve

Today after sunset we celebrate Christmas Eve in our homes - a very popular holiday among the Bulgarian people. There are different names in different parts of the country, almost as many as the dishes recommended by folk customs on the table tonight. Everyone knows it and most families celebrate it. Behind the customs, however, and in the fuss around them, the true, original meaning of the holiday is often lost. And that meaning is the anticipation of the birth of the Saviour and Redeemer from sin and death, which Christians have been celebrating for two millennia. On this night, we remember the birth of Jesus Christ in the poor setting of the cave of Bethlehem, which had been turned into a manger. Jesus's family, who had come for the census, took shelter there. So the setting in our homes tonight is modest, and the meals are fasting, far from festive pomp. What matters is not the number of dishes offered tonight, but their quality - that our food is lean, natural, made according to the folk tradition preserved over the centuries. The aim is to come closer to the conditions, in which the Holy Virgin and St Joseph were on that quiet and sacred night of Christ's Nativity.

According to the evangelists Matthew and Luke, Christ was born at night. Let us remember the star that guided the Wise Men from the east, and the shepherds who kept night watch over their flock when the angels announced to them the birth of the Saviour: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord". That is why this Christian tradition of waiting by the fire and around the Lenten pre-feast meal for the Son of God to be born was established.

The message of this evening was given again by the angels, who said, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests". May peace and kindness prevail on earth!

Prof. Ivan Jelev Dimitrov graduated from the Sofia Theological Seminary and the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University, studied Classical Philology at Sofia University. He majored in the New Testament in Greece and received his doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University. He has taught Classical Languages, Introduction and Interpretation of the New Testament at the Sofia Theological Seminary and the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University.