Lazarice ( sr, лазарице), also known by its Bulgarian name Lazaruvane ( bg, лазаруване), is a South Slavic traditional procession during the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

feast of

Lazareva Subota , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the E ...

(corresponding to, but distinct from ''

Lazarus Saturday , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the East ...

'' in other Orthodox churches), the day before

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

. The historians and anthropologists think that Lazarice originated from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

festival

Rosalia Rosalia or Rosalía (with diacritic) may refer to: Persons * Saint Rosalia (1130–1166), the patron saint of Palermo in Italy * Rosalia (given name) * Rosalía (born 1992), Spanish singer Places * 314 Rosalia, an asteroid * Rosalia, Pisidia ...

, popularized in Southeastern Europe by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

after their conquest of Balkans in the II century B.C.

Slavic tribes This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500. Ancestors *Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers) ** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of Bal ...

, settled in the Balkans in VI - VII century was adopted and developed part of the Greek - Roman traditions in their rites. Bulgarian mythology. Българска митология. Енциклопедичен речник, Анани Стойнев (in Bulgarian), published by "Захарий Стоянов" publishing house, Sofia, 2006 Traditionally, a girl who has never participated in the ritual may not marry or be engaged. The ritual is performed by young girls (typically of age 16 who are unmarried), called lazarki ( bg, лазарки). The girls decorate their hair richly and colourfully (usually with flower and ribbon wreaths) and dance around the village singing songs. They stop from house to house, performing songs and blessing the homes, accepting small presents and food from the hosts, typically the men. They meet by a river, where they drop their wreaths. It is said that the girl whose laurel first takes the lead will be married first. Traditionally the groups of lazarki would number around 14, but there are regional variances. It is no longer widely practiced in the large cities where many people live, and tends to be kept alive in the smaller villages - at least those which have young girls. Lazarka

References

* ''Ђорђевић Д.'' Живот и обичаjи народни у Лесковачкоj Морави. — Београд, 1958. * ''Каменова А.'' Пролетни обичаи от Чипровци // Българска етнография. Българска етнология. — София, 1992. — No. 4. — С. 40–46. * ''Маринов Д.'' Народна вяра и религиозни народни обичаи. — София, 1914.

External links

Shopski Lazarki

Song "Oy Lazare, Lazare"

Song "Vilay Moma Lazare"

How Bulgarians Celebrate Lazarus Saturday - EU Scoop
Bulgarian traditions Serbian traditions {{serbia-stub