koledari

Koledari are traditional Bulgarian carolers, typically groups of young men who visit households during the Christmas season to sing blessing songs and convey good wishes. In return, hosts offer hospitality, usually in the form of food, drink, and sometimes small gifts or coins.

The name derives from the winter festival term koleda and the broader Slavic and Balkan Christmas caroling tradition. The practice blends Christian Christmas celebrations with older agrarian rites associated with the solstice, and it is documented in Bulgarian folklore as a widespread regional custom.

A koledari group commonly includes several participants, sometimes ranging from a handful to many dozen. They wear colorful costumes and masks, and may accompany their songs with bells, drums, or wooden instruments. The repertoire consists of traditional koledi—blessing verses and tunes performed at each house as the group travels from home to home.

The content of the songs typically asks for health, prosperity, and luck for the household and its animals, hoping for a fruitful year ahead. Hosts respond with hospitality, offering bread, wine, sweets, and sometimes money to the performers, who then move on to the next dwelling.

Regional variations exist in terms of costumes, songs, and timing, with stronger traditions preserved in rural areas and in communities that maintain folk cultural programs. Today koledari are kept alive by folklore ensembles, schools, and cultural festivals as part of Bulgaria’s intangible heritage.