The PA Melting Pot – Part 6 Macedonians – Part 2
Bulgarians and Macedonians
The Macedonian and Bulgarian cultures, languages and
customs are intertwined due to proximity and the migration of the Macedonians
to Bulgaria and then to the US and an inevitable unification in the US.
About Bulgaria: At one time it was part of the large
Macedonian Empire (Bulgaria, northern Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia and the now
Republic of Macedonia). Today it is
a country in the Balkans on
the western side of the Black Sea. It is surrounded by Romania to the north, Serbia to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia to the
southwest, Greece to the south,
and Turkey to the
southeast.
About Macedonia: Some historians say that Macedonia endured
the greatest hardships of any European country under five centuries of Turkish
oppression. To escape this they migrated
to the Balkan countries (which includes Bulgaria) and then by World War II
200,000 had migrated to the US. Many
settled in western Pa. They were
hard-working and intelligent.
The first Bulgarians arrived in the
Pittsburgh area in 1900, settled in West Homestead, Homestead, Duquesne, West
Mifflin, Clairton and McKeesport and then later, some of them brought their
families to Allegheny County. They were unskilled workers (mostly single men
who lived in boarding houses) who mainly worked in the mills, mines and on
railroads. Others did not stay. They
made money & returned to Bulgaria. During World War II Bulgarian and
Macedonian women worked in factories.
The Macedonians united with the
Bulgarians to form a strong union. Of those immigrants who stayed: “According to the Global
Pittsburgh website there were 33 Bulgarian-Macedonian bakeries at the Start of
World War II in Allegheny County”. The
Bulgarians who didn’t work in the mills were strong entrepreneurs. At one time
in the area the Macedonian-Bulgarian community was the largest in the United
States and encompassed 500 families. The people were proud of their culture and
emphasized education.
A typical Bulgarian factory lunch was a
salad made of green peppers, vinegar, oil and garlic and a sandwich (either
cheese, eggs or meat). Bulgarian foods (with a heavy Turkish influence) were
Popska Yahnia (veal and onion stew), homemade yoghurt made into cheese (onions
could be added to enhance the taste), Tarator (cold cucumber soup), Fasul or
Bop (white bean soup), Yagni Spinak I Oris (lamb, spinach and rice), Korabeeki
(yoghurt cookie), Apple Strudel and Baniza (flaky strudel dough filled with
cottage cheese filling or spinach filling or leek and cheese fillings).
Some typical
Macedonian foods are: Macedonian Stuffed
Cabbage with Egg and Lemon, Elia’s Stew (beef, onions, hot peppers, garlic,
parsley, paprika and ketchup), Easy Mlechnik (True Macedonian Cheese Pie made
with eggs, cream cheese and feta…), Revani (Macedonian Syrup Cake), Pinjur
(Eggplant Dip), Kokoshka sou Oris (Macedonian Chicken and Rice), Banitza (also
Bulgarian above), Sutlijach (Rice pudding) and Ravanija (coconut
dessert).
Beverages: Rakia is a popular alcoholic beverage and national drink of
Bulgaria and Macedonia. It is made of
fruit which has been distilled and fermented.
Thick, dark espresso coffee, sugary sodas,
mineral water and natural fruit juices are also popular.
Today in Homestead there is Bulgarian-Macedonian
National Educational & Cultural Center: http://www.bmnecc.org) “A nonprofit organization whose mission is to embrace and
preserve the cultural values and rich traditions of the Bulgarian and
Macedonian people. They also seek to articulate and promote those values and
traditions as a way of enhancing tolerance and understanding among all peoples.”
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