The people from Yambol are said to be calm and hardworking. But it doesn’t mean they don’t like holidays. On the contrary – they like enjoying themselves and that’s what we are going to talk about now.

 After the Liberation, great changes have taken place in the culture of the people from Yambol. The old way of celebration and the complicated rituals began losing their importance. New urban culture started developing. Actually, it was a mixture of the inherited traditions and the fashion, coming from Europe. In Kargona district, as well as in other parts of the town, where the population was engaged in agriculture and had come from the villages, the holidays continued to be celebrated in the old-fashioned way. The citizens, however, started to change the traditions.

A great Christian holiday, expected with excitement by young and old was Christmas. Carol-singers were the most desired guests in every home. While Kargona resounded with the Carol-singers’ songs, Christmas Carols were sung in the central part of the town by school choirs or the local orchestra. Christmas trees, decorated with presents, glistened in the homes of the rich Yambol people. Then, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Christmas tree was adopted by the other citizens, as well.

Another observed holiday in Yambol is Sirni Zagovezni. People divided into two groups again. The traditional one continued to set fires, and to make ritual food, and the modern one began to organize urban carnivals. All the day at Zagovezni, the town streets were full of joyful fancy-dressed Yambol people, going to their friends’ places.
But we shouldn’t forget Lazar Day and Flowers Day – the happiest spring holidays in this region. The girls were dressed in national costumes, which they took from the near villages, and divided into groups of seven or eight. They went round the houses, performed their dance, and gave blessings with their songs.
Until the nineteen forties the custom Kumichene was performed in Yambol, too. On the Flowers day in the morning, the Lazar girls went to the river, carrying willow branches. There, they weaved them into garlands, which they dropped into the river at the same time. The girl, whose garland outstripped the other garlands, became godmother and treated the others.

Easter was also very respected by the people from Yambol. The week before the holiday was full of preparation – eggs were dyed, bread was made, and everybody did everything possible to have new clothes for that day.

Gergiovden was another holiday the people from Yambol celebrated in a very solemn way. The yard of St. George church filled with people from the town and the adjacent villages. The congregation spent the night on the second floor of the temple with the hope of finding salvation from illnesses and troubles at this holy night. On Gergiovden the people from Yambol celebrated on the green meadows near the town. Tables were arranged, children were pulled to be healthy, the youngsters swayed on swings, tied on the tree branches. But we shouldn’t forget another spectacular view of that day – the Gergiovden parade of the army forces in the town.

Another especially respected holiday in Yambol was Spasov day. The people connected it to the traditional gathering near the monastery St. Spas, situated in the Bakadjik spot.

Time passed by, and the holidays continued to change. Besides the traditional holidays, the people from Yambol had new Public and urban holidays, such as The Liberation day, the holiday of Army victories and bravery, the day of Yambol, celebrated for the first time in nineteen thirty-six, and others. The most respected, however, is the Day of the brothers Cyril and Methodius, celebrated in Yambol since eighteen sixty.
At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century some changes took place in the way the townspeople entertained themselves. Europe brought to the town the balls and dancing-parties. The balls became especially popular after the infantry and the cavalry had settled in the town.  The officers often organized such events, where the young women were obligatory accompanied by their mothers.

While the balls were a form of entertainment for the rich citizens, the dancing-parties were a preferable way of entertainment for the ordinary people.

One of the most preferable places for having a rest and entertainment was the town park. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century in the island of the Tundja River. The school choir and the town orchestra delivered concerts on the central alley at the weekends. Garden parties became very popular, as well. Everything was decorated with garlands, and some literary and entertaining programs were presented on a special stage. The place was full of people selling lemonade, boza, sunflower seeds, and others. It was noisy and picturesque.

These can still be seen today – we cannot complain we lack holidays and social life in Yambol.