The streets of Sofia may be bleak, with decorations few and far between, Christmas lights flickering mostly in shop windows, still, Bulgarians are almost ready for Christmas and the New Year. The government did its bit by officially declaring two long weekends – one for Christmas and one for the New Year, each four days long.

For some time now the government has taken up the slogan of “Stability” as its cardinal motto and objective – whatever it may mean; the nation also rallied round stability even now, on the eve of these holidays, as grand as they are commercial. Every expert, shop, restaurant and hotel keeper has been saying over and over again that this year no significant surprises are to be expected and the holiday season will take its usual course.

Around one million Bulgarians are getting ready to travel and celebrate away from home and even from the country. Expectedly, they are opting most often than not for ski resorts but also spa hotels with swimming pools and other treats. A four day package costs from EUR 170 to more than EUR 600 per person. The cost of spending the holidays in neighbouring Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia or Romania is pretty much the same. They are a preferred destination as Bulgarians feel at home in these countries geographically as well as culturally.

Those opting to spend the holidays in their own town or village will either go out to a restaurant or stay home to celebrate. This choice is more of a problem on New Year’s Eve, as for most Bulgarians, Christmas is more a time for families to get together at home for a festive meal. And as hotel and restaurant owners are well aware of this, their Christmas compared to their New Year prices are much more affordable at EUR 60-70 per person. If you stay home, EUR 50 will suffice for the whole family, as prices in Bulgaria have not been going up for some years and have even been going down.

Christmas may be a Christian and religious feast, yet it is no less of a triumph of consumerism and the season all shopkeepers and tradesmen have been waiting for all year. The Christmas spirit may be at a low ebb in the streets, yet few will be left without their presents and there will be a little something for everyone in the Christmas stockings. No surprises here, even though some experts and observers have been talking of more extravagance this year compared to last year. The trade unions however do not agree, saying that almost a quarter of Bulgarians cannot afford to set aside any extra sums to cover their costs over the holidays. According to trade union data, one in ten can afford to spend no more than EUR 10. Around 60 percent of the respondents say they can set aside EUR 10 – 50 and only 15 percent can afford to spend more.

According to other calculations, however Bulgarians are set to spend more than EUR 850 million over the holidays, with the sum including travel, hotel and restaurant costs, decorations and presents. To this we should add the revenues for businesses coming from the more than 100,000 foreign tourists expected to descend on Bulgaria. So, Christmas and the New Year are expected to add close to EUR 1 billion to corporate coffers. Now that is cause for real festive cheer!

English version: Milena Daynova