OUR FESTIVALS

More than rites accompany Bulgarians in their lifetime from their birthday to their death. Here you are going to learn about some of the most important ones.

Christmas Christmas is the biggest winter festival according the Bulgarian folk calendar. As we know it marks the transition of a status into another one. The night on December 24th is the first stage of the Christmas celebration. The things and the dishes put on the table tell us much more about the nature of the festival.

When the table is laid all the family gathers around it and the oldest man or the house owner takes some embers from the Yule log, sprinkles them with some incense and incense three times the table and the family members. After that he takes the kravay bogovitsa and bowing says three times: - Come, My Lord, come and have dinner with us!

The Yule-log The Yule-log is an oak log especially chosen and put on fire at Christmas Eve. It is kept to burn all night. Its solemn bringing at home by a bachelor or by the house owner is accompanied by traditional words glorifying God. Having been brought to the fireplace it is greased with consecrated oil, incense and wine.

This is accompanied with special ritual songs about the tree used by the young God to go down. The songs are performed by the lassies in the family. In the evening the log is put on fire and according its burning people foretell the harvest in the coming year. The Yule-log on fire is related to the idea of the resurgent Sun and to the image of the world tree which makes the connection between the sky and the earth.

Koledari Koledari are a group of young bachelors. A couple of days before Christmas Eve they start to learn traditional songs and make teams of koledari. Every team has its own leader who is older and is called ‘stanenik’ or ‘tzar’. The ‘stanenik’ prepares a special ritual piece of wood which he brings during the rite ‘koleduvane’. It is decorated with an apple painted in gold, a kravay, red threads, green branches, coins etc…

The koledari go in every house and everywhere they sing songs glorifying and blessing every family member living in the house. The hosts give them a lot of presents

January 1 st Surva Survakari are masked dancers who wear coats made of goat skin or “tatters” and pointed hats around six feet high. They have large bells tied around their waists which clang loudly as they move. They carry wooden swords and a decorated cornel twig called a sourvachka.

Kukeri They “appear” in Breznik and Radomir Districts, Shopluk Region around the time of New Year’s Eve, travel in groups of seven or nine dancers from house to house and bring with them wishes for good health. They are followed by various characters such as “gods”, clowns, a physician, a bride, or animals. When two groups meet they often fight a “mock” battle. This custom is of Slav origin.

Laduvane Wake up early in the morning to assist this young girls’ festival. The lassies put their rings tied with a red thread and flowers in a copper vessel full of spring water. Then dancing ritual dances they foretell who will be their future husband. Watch out - there might be chance for you too!

Easter

Nestinari (Embers dancers) Nestinarstvo is a ritual originally performed in several Bulgarian- and Greek-speaking villages in the Strandzha Mountains close to the Black Sea coast in the very southeast of Bulgaria. It involves a barefooted dance on smouldering embers performed bynestinari.

It is usually performed on the square of the village in front of the whole population on the day of Sts. Constantine and Helen or the day of the village's patron saint. The ritual is a unique mixture of Eastern Orthodox beliefs and older pagan traditions from the Strandzha Mountains.

OUR FESTIVALS Presented by the 5th -graders and 6th -graders from “St. Paissiy Hilendarski” high school”