Some Interesting Facts About Bulgaria

Public Holidays

Bulgaria is a predominantly Christian country, and many of the main public holidays and festivals of the country are Christian festivals. This includes Christmas - December 25 and 26; the two-day celebration is a legacy of the communist regime in country, when devout Christians, to avoid being persecuted for celebrating on December 25, started a festival- much like Christmas celebrations- on the 26th. Even though the Communists have gone now, the festival continues to be celebrated on 26th , although the 25th is also now officially recognised.

Other important religious and folk festivals include Easter, New Year, Cyrillic Alphabet Day (May 24), Trifon Zarezan (February 14, a festival of wine growers), and March 1, when martenitsi- red & white tasselled threads- are exchanged for health and joy, at the start of spring.

Date 2005  Occasion
January 1  New Year's Day 
March 3  National Holiday (Liberation Day)
May 1  Labour Day
May 2 Orthodox Easter Monday
May 6  St George's Day, Bulgarian Army Day
May 24  Education & Culture Day 
September 6  Union Day
September 22  Independence Day
November 1 Day of the leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival 
December 24  Christmas Eve
December 25  Christmas Day  
December 26  2nd Day of Christmas

Weekend- Saturday, Sunday

Important Telephone Numbers

Police: 166
Ambulance: 150
Road Assistance: 146

Weights & Measures

The Metric system is used throughout the country that basically means you buy solids in grams and kilos, liquids in litres and distances measured in kilometres.

Electricity

220 volts, 50 Hz is the standard power supply in Bulgaria. Appliances not compatible will need an adaptor or a converter.

Customs & Duties

The Bulgarian authorities allow foreign travellers to bring in personal effects- including reasonable amounts of tobacco, alcohol, perfumes and cosmetics for personal use- without any customs duty being applicable on these. If you’re brining in anything valuables, like jewellery, electronics, or cameras, you’ll have to declare them on entry, and take them out of the country at departure. Antiques or any valuable items- valuable in the context of having historic, cultural, scientific or artistic worth- cannot be taken out of the country, or may, in some cases, require a permit.

Embassies and Consulates

Close to fifty countries have diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, and they have embassies, consulates or chancelleries within the capital, Sofia. The embassies are not located in a specific enclave or area, as is common in a number of other cities, but are more or less distributed across the city. For addresses and telephone numbers, you could consult the local telephone directory.

Post & Communications

Most post offices in Bulgaria open from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Mondays through the week to Saturdays. Post offices are usually the best places to go for all your communication needs- they will often have other facilities besides postal services, such as telephones, fax or telex services, and sometimes you’ll find that the post office is the only place you can buy stamps. Some newsstands or other kiosks may also sell stamps or envelopes. The main post office also offers Poste Restante services, but this isn’t completely reliable.

For making a phone call, you can use the coin (or card)-operated public phones; cards for these can be bought at post offices and some shops. Look out for the telephones operated by Bulfon or Betkom- they’re generally quite reliable.

Tipping

Tipping isn’t generally the norm in Bulgaria, but growing tourism has made most service staff- waiters, porters, chauffeurs and so on- expect some sort of monetary `appreciation’. If the service has been good, you should round off the bill to the nearest multiple of ten; that should be sufficient. Beyond that- say 5 or10% of the bill- is expected only if the person in question has really gone out of his or her way to help you.

English Language Media

English isn’t a widely used language in Bulgaria, and in fact the only English daily published in the country is the Daily Chronicle- fairly reliable as far as local and international news is concerned. As far as radio and television go, if you want English language programmes, you’ll have to tune in to Voice of America or BBC broadcasts- or see satellite channels like BBC, CNN, and the like, which may be possible in major hotels in the larger cities. Local stations, both radio and TV, air only in local languages.