The day of Saint Nicholas in Bulgaria (Nikulden)
Here in Bulgaria we have a lot of winter holidays. And one of the most important is The day of Saint Nicholas, or so called “Nikulden”. It is an orthodox holiday. We celebrate it on 6th of December. It is the name day for everyone called Nikolay, Nikola, Nikolina, Kolyo, Nikoleta, Nina, Nenko, Nenka or similar.
On this day we honor Saint Nichola who is the patron saint of all sailors, travelers, traders and bankers.He is also the patron of fishermen. On 6th of December Bulgarians start to decorate their Christmas trees.
All families who have members named after Saint Nicholas gather together to celebrate with traditional dinner. It is not necessery to be invited by the person to attend the “big party”. You can go to his house and greet him personally. In most cases you won’t be sent off. Cool, huh?
So, let’s get to the point! What do we eat on Nikulden?
Traditionally, families prepare a huge stuffed carp with wallnuts, rice and vegetables. It is believed that the carp is the one true servant of Saint Nicholas. Some people put the carp in bread, this is the so called “Ribnik”. It is one of the Bulgarian cuisine highlights.On the holiday table there should be some meatless dishes like corn, stuffed peppers with rice, boiled wheat and beans and others.
It is important to leave the flakes on the fish, because they are associated with fertility and richness. If you decide to take off the flakes, you should be very careful not to let them fall on the ground — this is a bad luck. It is also believed that if you put one flake from the holiday carp in your wallet you will have money all year.
So don’t forget to greet your Bulgarian friends named after Saint Nicholas on 6th of December. If you don’t know any, come find one now!
Read more: A bite of Bulgarian Christmas traditions
