This weekend we went to a wedding in the Shenandoah Valley. The groom is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) from Bulgaria. It was great to see old friends, some of whom we hadn't seen since we left. It was a beautiful setting, the ceremony was in a garden of an old manor house, with the reception under a big tent.
The couple decided to include a few Bulgarian traditions: The bride and groom tore a loaf of bread. The tradition is the couple is given a whole loaf of bread to tear in half, and the spouse with the larger half is the "boss." It came as no surprise that the bride walked away with about 3/4 of that loaf.
The other tradition done at all Bulgarian occasions- weddings, school parties, office parties, even in a pub in the evening was to dance the horo. The horo is any number of dances where everyone holds hands and dances together, similar to the Greek, Hora. Sounds simple enough, but some of them are really tricky. Most Bulgarian kids take tanz, dance, in grade school and I had the oppurtunity to take a course while I was there. Here's one of the easier horos. Byala Roza or White Rose. Its usually 6 steps to your left with a foot touch- Bulgarians swear its not a kick, merely touch your foot out, but don't touch the ground. Then 2 steps back, with a foot touch. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
I like this youtube series for learning the horo, its in Bulgarian but they demonstrate each step:
Elenino Horo
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