The main Bulgarian celebration events are : *

Martenitsa A Martenitsa ( bg, мартеница, ; mk, мартинка, martinka; el, μάρτης, mártis; ro, mărțișor; al, verore) is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and usually in the form of two dolls, a white male and ...

, all of March, beginning with the 1st of march * Nestinari *

Kukeri Kukeri ( bg, кукери; singular: kuker, кукер) are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. This Bulgarian tradition has been practiced since Thracian times and is of a Thr ...

Koleda Koliada or koleda ( Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is the traditional Slavic name for the period from Christmas to Epiphany or, more generally, to Slavic Christmas-related rituals, some dating to pre-Christia ...

(

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

Koledari Koledari are Slavic traditional performers of a ceremony called ''koleduvane'', a kind of Christmas caroling. It is associated with Koliada, a celebration incorporated later into Christmas. This type of caroling is called "kolędowanie" in Pol ...

* Velikden (

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

) * Name Days * International Mother's Day, March 8 * Independence Day, March 3 * Sveti, Sveti Kiril i Metodii, May 24 Other Bulgarian customs, specific for

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, worship God, the saints, the nature, the health, and chase away bad spirits : * St. Andrew's Day - 30 November * Antonovden - 17 January * Archangelden - 8 November * Christmas Eve * Budnik *

* Valtchi praznici *

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sai ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

* Dragon chasing * Gorestnici - 28,29,30 July * Dimitrovden - 26 October * St John's Eve - 24 June *

Need-fire Need-fire, or Wild-fire (german: Notfeuer, goh, nodfyr, gd, tein'-éigin, russian: Живой огонь) is a term used in folklore to denote a superstition which has survived in the Scottish Highlands until recently. Like the fire-churning s ...

Trifon Zarezan Trifon Zarezan ( bg, Трифон Зарезан) is a Bulgarian national custom observed on the 1st and 14th of February in honor of Saint Tryphon. It is celebrated as a professional holiday by wine growers, falconers, gardeners and innke ...

- 1 February / 14 February * Horse riding Todorovden - 1st Saturday of

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

Feast of the Cross In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, th ...

- 14 September *

Lazarice Lazarice ( sr, лазарице), also known by its Bulgarian name Lazaruvane ( bg, лазаруване), is a South Slavic traditional procession during the Eastern Orthodox feast of Lazareva Subota (corresponding to, but distinct from ''Lazarus ...

(

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 Ea ...

) - 8 days before

in the name of Lazarus * Maccabees - ab 1 August for 12 days, to remember the Maccabees * Mratinci - Chasing of bad spirits, 14 November *

Nestinarstvo The Anastenaria ( el, Αναστενάρια, bg, Нестинарство, translit=Nestinarstvo), is a traditional barefoot fire-walking ritual with ecstatic dance performed in some villages in Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria. The comm ...

- Fire dance * Nikulden - 6 December * Pali Kosh - 2 March - circle dances around a Campfire *

Dodola Dodola (also spelled ''Dodole'', ''Dudola'', ''Dudula'' etc.) and Perperuna (also spelled ''Peperuda'', ''Preperuda'', ''Preperuša'', ''Prporuša'', ''Papaluga'' etc.), are Balkan rainmaking pagan customs practiced until the 20th century. The tr ...

* Petliovden - 20 January - Praying for a better harvest * Rusalska sedmica - Dance procession like

Exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

, one week after Pentecost * Sirni zagovezni - On Sunday, seven weeks before Easter. Jumping over the campfire and juggling with fire * Surva (Beginning of the new year),

(At the beginning of the new year and on Sirni zagovezni) and

(on

), * Todorova nedelja - The period between Sirni zagovezni and Todorovden * Dogs swinging - The first Monday of the period Todorova nedeljaВасилева, Маргарита. Календарни празници и обичаи. В: Добруджа. Етнографски, фолклорни и езикови проучвания. БАН. София, 1974. стр. 320. * Throwing willow branches into water spring on Pentecost * Throwing wood crosses into water spring on Iordanovden, the 6th of January to remember the

Baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bet ...

Literature

* Българска народна митология. Енциклопедичен речник. Съст. Анани Стойнев. Изд. гр. 7М+Логис, София, 1994. * ''Маринов Димитър'' Народна вяра и религиозни народни обичаи. Второ фототипно издание. — София, 1994. * ''Маринов Д.'' Жива старина. Книга перва: Верванията или суеверията на народа. — Руссе, 1891. 189 с.

References

External links

Small booklet about Bulgarian customs, traditions and celebrations
Free PDF booklet by Bulgaria Info-Online Magazine
Българските традицииОrenda-bg.net
* {{Bulgaria-stub