Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Five years ago the ancient pagan ritual Surova entered UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list

Photo: BGNES, archive

On this day in 2015, the Surova folk feast from the region of Pernik was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the UNESCO website writes.

Surova is a ritual banishing evil forces to cleanse humans for a new life. The core of the celebration is a popular masquerade ritual performed in villages throughout the region. It takes place in January when colourful survakari masquerade groups pass through the streets to the sound of bells and bagpipes to celebrate creative human energy and the faith that the new year will be more bountiful and healthy.  



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Hungary, 1930s

Bulgarians in Hungary with double celebration – Day of Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship and UNESCO recognition for gardening

October 17, 2025 will go down in history as the date on which the Minister of Culture of Hungary presented the document with which the Tradition of Bulgarian Gardening in Hungary officially entered the UNESCO National Register of..

published on 10/17/25 4:00 PM
Red Wall Biosphere Reserve

The spirit of the Red Wall Biosphere Park comes to life at a festival in Asenovgrad

The center of Bulgaria's town of Asenovgrad is today turning into a colorful scene of flavors, aromas and traditions, in which the spirit of the Red Wall Biosphere Park comes to life , reports BNR's Radio Plovdiv. At the “Festival of Crafts and..

published on 10/17/25 6:10 AM

Assoc. Prof. Natalia Rashkova: Globalization is a reason for additional interest in identities

"Folklore is a need for humans and this need will not disappear just like that, " says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Natalia Rashkova - ethnologist and folklorist, university lecturer and researcher with a strong contribution to the study of..

published on 10/16/25 3:25 PM