September 15th is always the first day of school here in Bulgaria. Even though today is a Friday, it was still the first day of school here. We had read that there is always some sort of celebration on September 15th, but we had no idea!

We were out walking the dog at about 10:00am and there were school-aged children everywhere. Hmmmm, we thought. If it’s the first day of school, shouldn’t the kids be in school? Turns out…….no! Apparently, on the first day of school, all the students bring their teachers flowers, go to an orientation for about an hour to learn the school rules, then go home and have a celebration.

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That’s right, my teacher friends! No teaching on the first day of school. Only getting gifts! Imagine it….not a bad idea. I think we should try this back home in the United States! Kids–think about it…you just bring flowers to your teacher and get the rest of the day to have a party. You see?? It works for all of us.

Now you understand why we like it here!!

**A note about flower giving in Bulgaria. Flowers are given in odd numbers, so 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. You never get an even number of flowers unless you are going to a funeral. Also, if you visit somebody’s house, let’s say they invite you over for dinner, the visiting man brings flowers and candy to the house. The flowers are for the lady and the candy is for the children in the house.

Just saying–they really know how to treat us women (and children) over here!