Text size

Surva holiday celebrated in Graovsko and all over Western Bulgaria

published on 1/14/24 6:30 AM

Photo: survakari.com

The Surva festival begins with the lighting of bonfires and mummers dancing the horo chain danie around the fires on the night of January 13-14.

The power and timelessness of the masquerade tradition has led UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site. The purpose of the ritual fires and dances is to bless the land and the people for a better life and to drive away evil spirits. Boys grow into men as they perform the Surva rites. The doors of every house are thrown wide open to welcome the Survakar parties.

This thousand-year-old tradition is the most awaited and zealously guarded in the region, handed down from father to son. Each year the masks and costumes are renewed. Younger children and women also take part in the masquerade.

In each procession there is a "leader", "the newlyweds", "the priest", "the bear with the bear-ward", according to the Ethnographic Museum in Pernik.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!

Radio Bulgaria Folklore festival masquerade mummers Surva UNESCO World Heritage Site

Gallery

More from category

Ritual food in Bulgarian traditional culture

Ritual food is an integral part of the Bulgarian ritual system. In the calendar of a Bulgarian village more than a century ago, food with meat was rarely consumed. People usually ate meat 4-5 times a year - on Christmas, St. George’s..

published on 6/15/25 11:20 AM

Czech artist Ludvík Kuba dedicates a book to Bulgarian folk songs

At the end of the 19th century, the Czech artist and folklorist Ludvík Kuba travelled to Bulgaria with one goal in mind: to explore the country's rich song heritage. The melodies he collected were published in a separate volume of his Slavic Song..

published on 4/28/25 12:04 PM

Why is it important for each lazarka girl to participate in the ritual kumichene on Palm Sunday?

In the Bulgarian folk tradition, the feasts of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday are related holidays. From Lazarus Saturday (Lazarovden in Bulgaria), girls prepare for the ritual kumichene, which is performed on the morning of Palm Sunday. A very old..

published on 4/13/25 11:56 AM