site.btaBulgarians Stick to Traditions in Everyday Life, Survey Shows

October 16 (BTA) - Bulgarians are sticklers for
traditions, and nearly two-thirds of adults remain just a finger
 away from anything related to land and nature, Gallup
International found in a survey intended to identify features of
 contemporary Bulgarian lifestyle 30 years after the start of
democratic changes in this country. The survey is part of
Gallup's monthly research programme. It was conducted between
September 4 and 10 among 802 respondents and is representative
for the country's population over 18.

Over 60 per cent of Bulgarians prefer homemade rakiya, have
friends and/or relatives who raise livestock for food and fruit
trees, and frequently use homemade preserves, the survey finds.

Over 70 per cent of respondents said that they frequently use
homemade preserves and pickles. Obviously, contemporary
lifestyle offering easy access to local supermarkets has not
killed this tradition.

In some cases, use of homemade products is even much preferred
to state-controlled produce. Sixty-six per cent of respondents,
for example, said they prefer homemade rakiya, not one bought
from a store. Just one in four interviewees think otherwise.

Seventy-seven per cent of Bulgarians regard hanging the washing
at the balcony as preferable, although the effect of this
practice on urban facades and skyscape is questionable.

Over two-thirds of the participants in the survey also said that
 they would rather have any guests take off their shoes and
leave them at the door, compared to one-fourth of the
respondents who would not.

Although the examples above show that some habits die hard, a
tongue-in-cheek analysis discovers that they are difficult to
change even under the influence of mass media and foreign
cultural role models. Besides everything else, such habits are
rooted in the environment in which a large portion of Bulgarians
 have to live.

However, tradition is "floored" when it comes to home
improvement, as 55 per cent said they would not cope on their
own, compared to 41 per cent who still do and would not rely on
professionals.

Men and women differ considerably in their responses to this
subject, unlike in the case of the other questions.

Younger urban dwellers and, respectively, higher income earners,
 tend to drift farther from traditional customs and tastes.
However, even among the youngest, nearly half of those
interviewed prefer hanging washing at the balcony or telling
guests to unshoe at the door.

Most residents of the capital city have given up animal and crop
 husbandry and do-it-yourself home improvement, but they still
make their own preserves for the winter, drink homemade rakiya,
and hang their washing at the balcony. MY/BR

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