"They wrap wreaths of willow branches and let them flow along the river. The girl to whom the wreath belongs and who advances first through the water will be the godmother ("kuma, kumitsa") of the lazarki girls," explains Maria Boyanova, curator at the National Ethnographic Museum.

The remaining girls carry the godmother in their arms to her home, singing songs along the way. At her home, a festive meal and pie, prepared by the godmother's mother, await them. The lazarki girls dance around the table, and the "kumitsa" breaks the pita bread and gives each girl a piece of it. From that day until Easter, the kumitsa does not talk to the lazarki, but fasts (i.e. keeps silence). When the second day of Easter comes, the lazarki go to visit the kumitsa and only then does the prohibition on speaking is removed. As a gift, they bring her ritual bread with a red egg placed in the middle. ‎

It is important that every lazarka girl participates in the Palm Sunday ritual of kumichene, adds Maria Boyanova: ‎

‎"It is interesting that on Palm Sunday, the songs that accompany the custom usually tell about a dragon that has whirled and stolen a maiden from the village, i.e. kidnapped a girl. In fact, we see that after the kumichene itself is performed, these songs stop being sung. This means that our ancestors believed that if a maiden does not participate in the ritual kumichene, then there is a danger that she will be kidnapped by a dragon. In legends, dragons, samodivas and some other dangerous mythological spirits awaken precisely in the spring. ‎So, in addition to a social point of view, kumichene is also important from a purely mythological point of view, because the dragon has always been a danger and threat to a young maiden."

Photos: bulgarianroots.bg