THEY know the best places to find Bulgarian food, and hear Bulgarian music, and talk of home with other Bulgarians.

Perhaps there are those who avoid these things. Perhaps it would make the longing too much to bear.

Unofficial estimates put the number of Bulgarians who have left in the past century at up to 10 million.

The exodus has taken place over generations, for reasons ranging from politics to the quest for better earnings, and while some of the departures have been permanent, some are temporary. At least officially.

It is a massive diaspora.

Historians classify the diaspora in four phases.

The first was before 1878, and another of economic and political emigrants between 1878 and 1944.

Those who left between 1944 and 1989 are regarded as political emigrants, and those who left after the end of the communist regime in 1989 are seen as economic emigrants.

Yordan Kolev, of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, and an expert on Bulgarians living elsewhere in the Balkans, said the term "Bulgarians Abroad" has been in use since 1989.

"This is the most popular term in post-1989 socio-political dialogue, along with others such as diaspora, emigrants, communities, and the much rarer, national minorities," Kolev said.

He explained that migration is the movement of people, especially of whole groups, from one place, region, or country to another, with the intention of making a permanent settlement in a new location.

"We cannot be sure and be specific about exact figures of people who leave with this intention."

There are border communities covered by the terms emigrants or diaspora, which designate emigrant or scattered groups beyond the ethnic and national territory.

Some use the term diaspora in the broad sense, meaning any ethnic group beyond its international and ethnic borders, including both emigrants and autochthonous population and not necessarily requiring the existence of a state or central region.

This makes it useful to use the term Bulgarians Abroad.

"The specific stimuli for migrations have always been social causes such as desire for material gain and the search for religious or political freedom.

"The reference used is based on both objective and subjective criteria," Kolev said. The diaspora term refers to permanent residence in a state or respective citizenship, as well as ethnic, religious and language characteristics that are distinct from those of the majority.

"The subjective criteria are associated with the motivation to preserve one's specific identity such as language, culture, traditions and religion," Kolev said.

He said that when talking of Bulgarian nationality, the communities included in it could also be classed according to their ethnic origins. Ethnic Bulgarians, the diaspora of non-Bulgarian ethnic descent, and the communities of Bulgarian Turkish origins are part of the nation.

Along with the Bulgarian state and the minority groups in Bulgaria, expatriate Bulgarian communities living beyond the borders are about one eighth of the population of the country. The communities of Bulgarian origins in the Republic of Macedonia and Greece number just more than 2 million.

"The largest expatriate Bulgarian communities live in Ukraine and Moldova," said Kolev. Respectively 90,000 and 246,000 as of last census in the Soviet Union before the changes.

However, it appears that in reality about 150,000 Bulgarians live in Moldova and data of SABA shows that 350,000 Bulgarians live in Ukraine.

Economic emigration from Bulgaria and political emigration formed a Bulgarian ethnic diaspora in Central Europe, the Americas and Australia.

From 1880 to 1945, 954,000 people, regardless of ethnic identity, emigrated from the country, according to official information released by the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad. The total number of Bulgarian emigrants to North America since the start of emigration is 130,000 people.

However, official data from the 1990 United States Census lists 29,595 persons of Bulgarian heritage.

But, in contrast: "There are 50,000 Bulgarians in Chicago," said Stefan Miladinov, a philosophy graduate who has researched the Bulgarian diaspora.

Kolev explained that economic emigration in the past years lead to brain drain, mostly to the US and Canada, and elsewhere in the Americas and Europe.

"New York and Buenos Aires were the two most attractive destinations for Bulgarians to migrate to," Kolev said.

Another of the bigger Bulgarian diaspora destinations is Germany, where there are about 20,000 Bulgarians.

"Some of them we consider as a new wave of emigration, but we cannot be sure of their status," Kolev said.

He said it was regrettable that the Bulgarian Government and policy was not doing much to preserve the national ethnicity and culture among those living beyond the borders of the country.

This was in contrast to Greece, which worked hard to keep in touch with its people abroad, through contact with their local authorities, consular services, and sending them books.

Bulgaria does not have the appropriate approach to preserving contacts with its diaspora.

"Informal associations, friendship unions or simply gatherings organised by Bulgarians are the temporary link with the root country," he said.

Two years ago in Vienna, a students' union called Assen Zlatarov was founded with enthusiasm, but quickly foundered.

"Around the Bulgarian Easter initiative there have been many organisations, appearing worldwide sporadically and disappearing quickly," he said.

One such union is Bulgarian Americans United non-profit organisation, registered with the US Internal Revenue Service, created for the purpose of organising cultural events in the US and acting as a bridge between people of Bulgarian descent living in the US and those in the motherland, Bulgaria.

According to Kolev, in Chicago the Bulgarian-language newspaper, the Macedonian Tribune, has been published for more than 80 years.

SABA maintains contact with the community there, helping to organise regular events, whenever affordable, by sending books or the bimonthly magazine Ek (Echo). Two big initiatives were supported and organised by SABA in 1995, gathering the journalists from Europe, Canada and US, and a subsequent meeting between intellectuals living beyond the borders, in 1997.

There are two Bulgarian eparchies in Europe called the Eparchy of Central and West Europe with Priest Simeon and the eparchy in Australia and US's with Priest Yossif in New York.

"There are 20 Bulgarian churches in the US and Canada and only two churches left in Australia, because the rest became Macedonian."

A very big group of students in Boston and the church community there are trying hard to protect the national identity of the emigres. According to Kolev there is a Sunday school.

The village of Tvurdica in Moldova is named after the village of Tvurdica near Sliven. It was established in 1830 and has its own schools and church. Around 10,000 people live there. Widow Maria Bogdanova, who has come back to Bulgaria is one of them. She told The Echo: "All of us try to preserve the culture, identity and language and around festive days we wear national costumes and we speak only in the native mother tongue".

Violeta Jeliazkova, editor of a Bulgarian online newspaper in Boston called BG Mass, said that Boston this year hosted a concert dedicated to the Day of the Bulgarian Alphabet. There is also a school, Vassil Aprilov, established in 1999 and educating five children.

About 30 Bulgarians live around Stony Brook, Long Island, New York, where there is a circulation of a weekly Nedelnik There is a once a week school attended by seven kids in two age groups.

Violeta Detcheva, president of Bulgarian-Canadian Society of Bulgarians said that the Bulgarians in the country numbered about 3,000.

In Bucharest, this year the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius saw a big celebration. Kolev said more than a million Bulgarians live in Romania. In Bucharest alone, there are about 200,000.

In Bratislava, Slovakia, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute helped to organise a three-day scientific conference as a celebration of the Day of the Bulgarian Alphabet, and Pope John Paul II's visit to Bulgaria.

A concert was staged at the Bulgarian Embassy in Paris featuring young performers from Bulgaria and Macedonia.

In Belgrade the Bulgarian Embassy donated 70 volumes to the University Library and the Bulgarian language and literature department in Belgrade.

The Bulgarian community in Washington DC marked the holiday with a concert by Forte String Quartet.

Abroad, Bulgarian restaurants and clubs serve as gathering places and preservers of the language and culture.

Stephanie's Restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts is one such place.

In the same state, Beriozka food store offers Bulgarian white cheese.

Trifon's Restaurant and restaurant BVULGARI in Hollywood, California, both offer Bulgarian cuisine and atmosphere.

Bulgarian Store Black Sea Delicatessen in New York opened doors to customers last year, and offers a great variety of Bulgarian items such as lutenitsa, banitsa, sheep milk cheese, lukanka and other delicious Bulgarian foods.

And in Chicago, on FM 88.7, journalist Elena Tzaneva hosts a two-hour programme starting on Sundays at 1pm, with the latest news and music from home, for the benefit of the several thousand strong Bulgarian community.