Christmas music

Back at the beginning of March, few would have thought that terms like "restrictions," "without friends," "only at home" and "no hugs or kisses" would be a part of any discussion about the Christmas and New Year's holidays this year.

In the early hours of 25 December, President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov sent their Chrismas greeting to the Bulgarian people. Both posted them on their Facebook pages.

This is the greeting of the President

Merry Christmas!

May the light of today's holiday bring sound health, warmth, hope and faith to every Bulgarian family.

Christmas festivities began on Dec. 25, with hundreds of millions across the world under coronavirus restrictions celebrating a pared-down version of a holiday typically marked by travel and large gatherings.

The Domna Samiou Choir, an ensemble created in 1993 by the late doyenne of Greek folk music, performs traditional Christmas carols from different parts of the country and different eras. A special holiday recording is being streamed by the Athens Concert Hall on its online channel (see megaron.gr) from December 24 through January 8, free of charge.

Bulgarians plan to set aside 25% of their income, or an average of € 269 per household, for festive expenses over Christmas, according to data from the 13th edition of the international Christmas Barometer'2020 survey.

"Home Alone", one of the blockbusters of all time which all TVs show ad nauseam for Christmas will probably become prophetic this year. At least if we decide to stick to the recommendations of WHO and opt for seeing in Christmas at a virtual home party.

Klaus Iohannis, Romania's president at his second mandate sent a Christmas message on Tuesday to all Romanians, no matter the place they are. "The celebration of the Birth of our Lord Jesus brings us all closer. So, let's replenish with the joy of being together, united through the profoundness of compassion, solidarity and unselfishness toward the others.

PM Ludovic Orban said in his message sent for Christmas that we need "to hold on to our desire to do good every day and rediscover the cohesion that we need as a society." "The spirit of Christmas, the Christmas carols and traditions give us joy, and they make us want to offer joy to the other too, on our turn.

Nearly 87% of Bulgarians will celebrate Christmas. Those who declare that they will not celebrate are mostly representatives of religious societies. For 35% of people, Christmas is a more important holiday than New Year's, but the largest share (43%) believe that the two holidays are equally important.

Bulgarian households will spend up to 25% of their monthly incomes for Christmas-New Year's gifts, according to the FERATUM Group 2018 Christmas Barometer, conducted in 19 countries. It places Bulgaria at fourth place on planned expenses for the upcoming holidays.