Bulgaria Program January 2012 Update

We are delighted to announce our first placement since the program reopened in 2009!  At the end of December a sibling set of three, ages 9, 8 and 7 arrived home from Nova Zagora, Bulgaria.  They join their parents and 2 older sisters, who were adopted previously through Spence-Chapin’s.  Overall the family was pleased with the process and provided us with wonderful feedback about our Bulgarian counterpart agency, Anido Association.
Spence-Chapin now has 15 families with dossiers registered at the Ministry of Justice and several additional families who are in the home study process preparing to adopt from Bulgaria.

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Cultural Events  – Bulgaria Christmas celebrations are known as ‘Koleda.’ They start almost a week ahead and last until the New Year. Bulgarians celebrate with traditional foods after the Advent fast. Walnuts are a necessary component to the Bulgarian Christmas meal. Each member of the family cracks one in order to determine their fate for the next year – a good one brings a successful year; bad luck is predicted for the person who cracks a bad nut.

Another Bulgarian Christmas Eve dinner tradition involves hiding a coin in the loaf of Christmas bread. The person who finds the coin can also expect good luck in the year to follow.

The New York City Golden Festival: Jan. 13 & 14, 2012 New York’s only music and dance festival of its kind, celebrates 27 years of live Balkan, Roma (“Gypsy”) music and beyond. The Grand Prospect Hall, 263 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn.

To find out more contact us at

212-400-8150 or email us at info@spence-chapin.org.