From "Once upon a time - manners and worldview of the Bulgarians"
Family customs and rituals mark the most important moments in human life. “A person is born once, marries once, and dies once,” says the folk proverb. Each of the rites and rituals associated with birth, marriage, and death are similar. The first element is preparation, the second is initiation and transition to the new group, and finally follows the affirmation of the new qualities and connections acquired in the custom. The construction of a new home is also part of the most important events in the life of a Bulgarian. And bread is one of the main symbols present in all holidays, rites, and customs of our people. The people have said: “No one is greater than bread.”
Communication is an important part of people's lives, and the old Bulgarians knew this too. Meetings in the strict patriarchal society most often took place at the water source, at the fountain, at the dance, at the gathering, at the sedyanka. Love, the old people said, begins at the well, and the wedding at the sedyanka. It is the sedyanka that is the sacred place where the young people first show their intentions to society. Only then do they proceed to the other rites - before the wedding customs, the preparation and implementation of the marriage, the first steps in the new role and the affirmation of the new status in society. Often, after the sedyanka, a wedding, the birth of an heir and the construction of a new home follow, and finally, farewell to loved ones and sending them to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Sedyanka – the beginning of a new family
Forgotten traditions during pregnancy and childbirth
© 2023 Iliana Dechkova