Дядо Коледа

Bulgarian

Etymology

дядо (djado, “grandfather, old man”) +‎ Коледа (Koleda, “Christmas”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdʲa̟do ˈkɔlɛdɐ]

• Audio

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Proper noun

Дя́до Ко́леда • (Djádo Kóleda) m

1. (Slavic mythology) Father Christmas (benevolent folklore character who is said to award good children at Christmas)

   Antonym: Дя́до Торбала́н (Djádo Torbalán)

Usage notes

The native folklore personage Дядо Коледа is widely viewed as equivalent to western Santa Claus (Kris Kringle) of Germanic folklore or with the colloquial interpretation of Saint Nicholas from Christian tradition. The personage is also interchangeably called Дядо Мраз (Djado Mraz) (personification of winter), although the later has strictly natural origin.