With the start of the new year comes the time when people in Bulgaria welcome guests to their homes most often. It is said that guests can come uninvited on a name-day, and January is the month of the year that is just packed with name days. It is also the month connected with kukeri (mummer) games.
In towns and villages people throw their homes open to the dancing kukeri. It is said that with their fearsome masks, they banish the forces of evil lurking all around us, humans.
In Zhabokrut village near Kyustendil, for example, there are two bands of kukeri who start making the rounds of the homes in the village as early as 8 AM on 1 January, and they are welcome guests in every home. The bands consist of men of different age, among them university and school students, men of various professions, there are even policemen. At the very start of the year they go to all the houses dressed in traditional costumes made of animal skins and hides. It is a tradition to give them meat, bread, banitsa and wine, as well as small coins.
Photos: archiveFebruary 22 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Kichka Savova - one of the most significant singers from Bulgaria's Thrace folklore region. All who knew her during her lifetime keep in their hearts the memory of a talented, truly good, bright and..
For the fourth year in a row, the town of Tran in Western Bulgaria will host a winter festival of masquerade games. The beginning will be set on February 3 from 12:00 to 14:00 in the central town square. Four survakari groups from Zemen, Trun and the..
On February 2, according to the Bulgarian folk calendar, it is Petlyovden (Rooster Day) - a day dedicated to the health and fertility of male offspring. It is most widely popular in Eastern Bulgaria. One of the obligatory elements is the..
Christmas Eve, once called Budnik, Little Christmas or Neyadka, was considered part of a dark, frightening period, charged with the potential to..
On Christmas morning the glad tidings have spread that the Son of God was born, making it a special day celebrated with a lot of festive rituals. After..
+359 2 9336 661