Selected text
My relatives in Salonica read a lot, mostly fiction: Mayne Reid, Victor Hugo, etc. My sister and mother read the most in our family. My mother read all the time. Even while she was knitting or doing the housework. I remember very well that we read at home a French newspaper, known as ‘the independent newspaper.’ It was published in French in Salonica. I can’t remember what newspapers we read in Sofia, because I personally don’t like newspapers.
As far as I know, though I could be wrong, the Jews in Bulgaria were around 40,000, whereas in Salonica they were around 80,000. I remember that in Greece we, the Jews, gathered mostly at our homes. The typical Jewish occupations were the same as in all the other countries: merchants, craftsmen, workers. The Jewish holidays such as Purim, Pesach and Chanukkah were celebrated the same way in Bulgaria, but more merrily. Let’s not forget that both the Bulgarian and Greek Jews are Sephardi. I remember that my favorite holiday was Purim, probably because of its carnival character, the masks that we, the children, put on; we had as much fun as the adults.
As far as I know, though I could be wrong, the Jews in Bulgaria were around 40,000, whereas in Salonica they were around 80,000. I remember that in Greece we, the Jews, gathered mostly at our homes. The typical Jewish occupations were the same as in all the other countries: merchants, craftsmen, workers. The Jewish holidays such as Purim, Pesach and Chanukkah were celebrated the same way in Bulgaria, but more merrily. Let’s not forget that both the Bulgarian and Greek Jews are Sephardi. I remember that my favorite holiday was Purim, probably because of its carnival character, the masks that we, the children, put on; we had as much fun as the adults.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Jul Efraim Levi