The first day of January is a day filled with emotions and joyful anticipation of a prosperous year in which all family members will be healthy and will make all their dreams come true. In the traditional Bulgarian calendar, 1 January is known as..
The countdown is on, in the town of Pernik near Sofia, to the most colourful, noisiest and biggest masquerade festival in Bulgaria. They call it Surva , as this old tradition in the towns and villages of Western Bulgaria is called. It is a men-only..
They are clad in genuine animal skins weighing 30-40 kgs. each, wear horns and all kinds of different-coloured charms. They sometimes hide their faces behind fearful masks, at other times they show their weather-beaten faces. Their pictures..
Since unknown times Bulgarians have welcomed January 1 with the wishes of the survakari, who continue to visit homes of people on the first day of the New Year: “Surva, a Happy New Year, a golden wheat-ear in the field, a red apple in the..
