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

Mummers parade at carnival in Blagoevgrad

Mummers from the neighborhoods of Bulgaria's town of Blagoevgrad, the neighboring villages and guests from Petrich paraded at a carnival in the regional town, as the sounds of hundreds of bells filled the town. For yet another year, the Mummers'..

published on 1/7/24 6:31 PM

Men will dance in the icy waters of the Ogosta River for the first time

For more than 20 years in the city of Montana, there has been a tradition on January 6 for people to go to Montanenzium Park, where there is an artificial lake, suitable for conducting the Orthodox Christian ritual called "Saving the Holy Cross" on the..

published on 1/5/24 9:35 PM

Day of Saint Sylvester or Karamanovden

The Orthodox church marks the day of Saint Sylvester today. A Roman Pope, who lived in the 3rd-4th century, and who, according to legend baptized Emperor Constantine I the Great and converted him to Christianity. In folklore belief, Saint Sylvester is..

published on 1/2/24 10:48 AM