Gabrovo humour
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[edit] History
The citizens of Gabrovo, Bulgaria are notorious for their unique sense of humour. Their jokes are related to stinginess and rivalry with neighboring city of Sevlievo. During the second half of 20th century jokes have been largely popularized due to the House of Humour and Satire in Gabrovo. The city is now know as an international capital of humour and satire.
The people from Gabrovo are both good at moneysaving and bargaining, for economy runs in their veins; they know how to get something out of nothing - an invaluable lesson taught by their ancestors; upon the very hint of a crisis they set their sense of humour going, for they are left with no other alternative. Numerous anecdotes are told about this shrewd and most careful with money (or, as other Bulgarians consider them, stingy) part of the Bulgarian population. It is these anecdotes that created the phenomenon Gabrovo Humour being as viable and vital as ever.
[edit] Sayings
It is said of the people from Gabrovo...
- cut off the tails of their cats so they can close the door quickly and save heat when letting a cat out; hence, the black cat with a cut-off tail has turned into a long-lasting symbol of Gabrovo town.
- fit taps to the eggs to tap as much as they need and no more for a soup, for a whole egg seems too much to them;
- at night they stop their clocks to save wear on the cog-wheels;
- put green spectacles on their donkeys' noses when they feed them shavings so as to make the poor beasts think that it is hay;
- sweat both in the smithy and in the market place - when bargaining;
- when they invite people to tea, they heat the knives so the guests can't take any butter;
- to save money on sweeps, they let a cat down the chimney;
- when something new has only just hit the headlines somewhere, it is already being done in Gabrovo.
[edit] Gabrovo jokes
Some well know Gabrovo jokes are:
- A citizen of Gabrovo goes to his neighbour and asks:
"Hey neighour, I have a big problem, there are 15 guests and only 10 chairs at my house. Do you have some chairs available?" "Yes," answered the neighbour. "That's perfect; I'll send five to your house."
- Why people from Gabrovo don't buy refrigerators?
Answer: Because it is not certain that the light goes off after closing the door.
- Why people dance with socks during weddings in Gabrovo?
Answer: Because they listen to the music from the neighboring village (ref. to Sevlievo)
- Why do people from Gabrovo switch the lamp on and off every now and then when they're reading a book?
Answer: To save energy while turning pages.
