Surva, a Happy New Year, a golden wheat-ear in the field, a red apple in the garden, yellow corn off the woods, large grapes on the vine, a purse full of coins... Good life and health during the whole year and beyond!”

Such blessings and wishes for health and luck are repeatedly said and heard every time a new year begins, and a range of traditional rituals have survived and are still practiced to mark the point of transition to a new calendar year.

On January 1 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ and the Feast of St. Basil the Great. In Bulgarian folklore the day is known with several names: Vasil (Basil), Vasiliovden (St. Basil's Day), Surva and Surovaki.  Similar to all Bulgarian holidays, a key imperative is to take proper care of the menu and of how the table is to be laid for dinner. On 1 January - just like on Christmas Eve - the table is incensed first, while the menu offers bread, banitsa (a traditional cheese pie) and first and foremost, a whole pig's head. This is the only occasion in Bulgarian folklore when pork is incensed. In some regions of the country the menu is complemented with walnuts, garlic and honey, just like on Christmas Eve. Everybody wears their traditional costumes for special occasions and merriment is a must, because the way one welcomes the New Year, the same way it will proceed. In some villages cornel tree buds are thrown into the fire to see which one will pop up with the strongest sound and will jump the highest. Thus in turn means that whoever threw that bud in the fire would be the healthiest and the most energetic in the community. 

Surovakane (tapping people's backs with a decorated cornel twig with a wish for sound health) begins after the first cock crow for the New Year. Inherited from ancient times this act has diverse symbolism. Regardless of a few curious details that are part of tradition in different regions, back-tapping for health is almost identical across the country. As is the case with a few ancient cultures, in the Bulgarian folklore the circle symbolizes the sun, God and has protective functions. The survakari (boys who go round to do the back-tapping) just like koledari (the Christmas carol-singers), go round all village houses. Historians explain that in the past survakari used to be young married men. As time went by this practice was modified and in the past 100 years back-tapping is done by boys aged from 5 to 12 years. As the New Year arrives at midnight, they start blessing the folk with wishes for good health and fertility. They back-tap with cornel twigs cut off the previous day and thus still raw (surov is raw in Bulgarian), hence the name survachka (raw cornel twig). In popular beliefs the cornel tree stands for tenacity, health and longevity. Touching this iron tree is meant to bring iron health and luck.

It is both curious and telltale that in early December the popular celebrations known as Surova and Surva in the region of Pernik, Western Bulgaria, were added to the representative UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. The festival of the masquerade games in Pernik, 30 km away from Sofia, was first launched in 1966. It is held annually, and in 1985 it became an international event.

The Surva custom is described in all folklore regions. There is a common practice, especially in Western Bulgaria, of masked groups of young single men to go round the village and do the back-tapping. These are called various names in different dialects. The male groups are dressed in costumes from goat's or sheep's skin with the fleece inside out. Masks are zoomorphic and often represent a high lath structure decorated with feathers, horns and textile. The men must wear bells attached to their waistbands and should carry raw wood sticks. Along with Christmas carol-singing rituals this is a very old rite based on mythology. It is performed at points of transition in the calendar and aims to restore balance in nature and the human world. Through it the young men taking part in it who are in a transitional period of their lives acquire knowledge, norms of conduct and the mythology or religion of the community. As they carry the rite out they make a passage from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge and make sure they and the community are endowed with fertility and enjoy good protection.

January 1 is the name day of Vasil, Vasilka, Vasilena, Veselin, Veselina and others. Vasilia is the name of a mythical creature mentioned in folk songs surrounding the custom of “singing to rings”. This was a rite that helped girls guess whom they would marry one day. Today this game is performed more like theater. There are also songs surviving today about girl Vasilia described in them as the girl who takes copper rings from the water. The survachki too, have preserved their role and symbolism. Cornel twigs decorated with various colorful fabrics and popcorn enjoy high demand during the Christmas season, as they are sold in open markets. Well, it is a different story should we try to make them on our own. We need woolen threads of various colors, a string of popcorn and above all a tough cornel twig. At the top we tie a dried apple and a coin to make sure the coming year brings the best of health and wellbeing.

English version Daniela Konstantinova