Traditions, both ancient and new, define nations and communities. Bulgarians make no exception. A country of diverse cultures and religions, its calendar is peppered with events, festivals and rites that range from cute to curious, even bizarre. Some of them are ancient, like the dances of the kukeri and nestinari, while others are new, such as greeting the first rays of the rising sun on 1 July. Almost all are heavily affected by globalisation and social media, yet keep a strong core of authenticity. 

Observing and even participating in Bulgaria's traditions is a year-long experience. What follows is a list of some of the most exciting and spectacular ones.

Kukeri

When: Between Christmas and Lent

In rural Bulgaria, masked men clad in animal hides dance in the streets between Christmas and Lent in an ancient ritual designed to bring back spring and ensure the fertility of nature, animals and humankind. In different regions of Bulgaria the men would wear different costumes, dance at different times of the year and were known by different names. Today they are all commonly known as kukeri.

The kukeri dances almost died out when Bulgaria became an urbanised Communist country and the young people left the villages for jobs in the cities. Eventually, the tradition was revived here and there, but as a modernised, tamed, and somewhat sterile symbol of Bulgarian-ness. Today, many Bulgarians are proud of their uniqueness, although similar traditions can be found all over Europe and even in faraway Japan.

If you want to see crowds of kukeri, you can attend the two big festivals dedicated to them: Surva in Pernik, which usually takes place in January, and Kukerlandia in Yambol, which is held in late February or early March.

Epiphany

When: 6 January

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Epiphany is the day when St John baptised Christ in the River Jordan, and God's three entities (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) appeared together. Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany in a loose reenactment. A priest blesses an open body of water, and then throws a cross into it. The young men jump in. Whoever finds the cross first will be blessed, healthy and lucky throughout the year.

The ritual was discouraged under Communism, but after its collapse was quickly revived, helped by a media hungry for spectacular and bizarre events to report on. Inevitably, the way Bulgarians celebrate Epiphany has changed, reflecting the times. Today, many of the young men shivering on the banks of a river or at the seashore, ready for the priest to throw in the cross, do it for the adrenaline rush and the opportunity that participation in such an extreme experience provides to brag about on social media later. The famous horo dance in the icy waters of the Tundzha River in Kalofer, which for years was a small, local affair and a rite of passage for the young men of the town, is now a huge media circus that is all about what contemporary Bulgarians see as "patriotism" and less about the true meaning of the ancient purification ritual.

St Trifon Zarezan 

When: 1 or 14 February

© BTA

Wine has been made in the Bulgarian lands for millennia. The Thracians invented a rich mythology around the tradition, centred around a dark and mysterious deity we now know by his ancient Greek name, Dionysus. When Christianity arrived, Dionysus blended with a Church-approved saint, St Trifon. With time, the amalgamation gave birth to a peculiar tradition.

The tradition is based on a strange, blood-soaked myth. Here it is: St Trifon was pruning his vines when he saw Virgin Mary passing by and teased her for giving birth to a "bastard." Enraged, she rushed to his wife and told her that Trifon had just cut off his nose with the pruner. The wife ran to the vineyard, only to see Trifon busy working, his nose at its proper place. When she told him what the Virgin Mary had said, he mocked her: "How can you be so gullible, my nose is right here!" and he pointed it with the pruner. The pruner slipped and cut off his nose.

For generations, Bulgarians have celebrated St Trifon, a patron saint of winemakers and publicans, by recreating this myth. On St Trifon's feast, they would go to the vineyards, ritually cut some branches, and then get drunk together.

Today most Bulgarians buy their wine from stores, but villagers in wine producing regions keep the old traditions alive.

Martenitsi

When: 1 March

Every foreigner who has been in Bulgaria in spring knows the red and white treads Bulgarians put on on 1 March. Martenitsi is a hallowed rite that even Communism did not eradicate. It started as a rural tradition when people wore martenitsi as protective amulets.

Under Communism, a nationalistic legend was created to explain the pagan tradition's origins. When Khan Asparukh, who became the founder of medieval Bulgaria, defeated the Byzantines, he sent a messenger pigeon with the good news to his sister. The Byzantines intercepted the dove and shot it, but the bird made it to the Bulgarian camp. Happy with the outcome, the khan's sister cut the white thread that had kept the message to the pigeon's leg, it was now partially covered with blood. She cut it into pieces and distributed it among the Bulgarian army to wear as an amulet for future victories.

Sadly, today most martenitsi are made in China. The ones for children even have plastic elements depicting global pop culture characters, like Spiderman and Paw Patrol characters.

St Todor's Feast and Bride Market in Mogila village 

When: the first Saturday of Lent; in 2025 it is on 8 March

Horses gallop to the loud support of an enthusiastic and slightly tipsy crowd – if you happen to be in a Bulgarian village on the first Saturday of Lent, chances are that you are going to see people celebrating St Todor's day with the traditional horse races. One of the few mounted saints in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, he is venerated as the patron saint of horses and riders.

The horse races in Mogila village, near Stara Zagora, are different. Along with them there is a... market for brides.

Yes, you have read that correctly. The Kalaydzhii clan of the local Roma community is still keeping its century-old tradition to have a special fair that allows boys and girls to meet and, if there is a spark, to get engaged and married.

On the meadow by Mogila, you will see many young girls dressed in their best to attract attention, closely guarded by their grandmothers clad in traditional skirts, aprons and kerchiefs. Young men circle around, eyeing the potential brides. The old ladies are the ones who handle the negotiations and money indeed changes hands. Depending on the future bride's "qualities" (including not only beauty, but also age, virginity, and family) a girl can cost between 5,000 and 50,000 leva.

Of course, this tradition is very controversial. However, the Kalaydzhii community claims the negotiations and the payment are only for the sake of tradition. No one would marry their daughter to a boy she dislikes and the money paid for her is spent on the new family's home.

Palm Sunday

When: Moveable, in 2025 it is on 13 April

Tsvetnitsa, Flower Day – or Vrabnitsa, Willow Day – is the local name for Palm Sunday, the feast celebrating Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. Early in the morning, priests all over Bulgaria bless branches of willow – a regional substitute for the palm branches laid on the streets of Jerusalem in the New Testament story. Then they distribute them to churchgoers throughout the day. It is believed that having at least one branch of blessed willow at home will protect the household from all evil.

This is why on Tsvetnitsa Bulgarian streets are full with people carrying willow branches, and there are queues in front of the churches. The Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians participate in a century-old ritual: they light a candle in the church, kiss the hand of the priest, and receive from him the blessed willow twigs. 

Eastern Orthodox Easter

When: Moveable, in 2025 it is on 20 April

For Eastern Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria, Easter outshines Christmas, and is linked to a spectacular tradition that never ceases to impress. It starts half an hour before midnight on Great Saturday and focuses on churches. As midnight approaches, Bulgarians take a few coloured eggs – a must for the high day, and go to church for the main mass of the celebration.

After a ritual in which the priest drives Satan away from the church, he steps out and the congregation follows him with lit candles. At midnight the priest lights the candles and greets the congregation by saying, Hristos voskrese, or "Christ Is Risen." The answer is Voistina voskrese, or "Indeed He Is Risen." 

Then they walk around the church three times – in theory. In practice, there is congestion at the door when everybody tries to get out at once. While some of the parishioners are already making their third turn around the church, others are still blocked inside. 

When the service is over, people exchange eggs and "fight" with them – they hit each other's eggs trying to break them. The person whose egg is the strongest will have good health and luck throughout the year. However, the egg that was dyed first is taken back home and kept until the following Easter. 

Alevi gathering at Hizir Baba shrine

When: 1 May

The Alevi are a Muslim group with distinct beliefs, festivals and shrines. They are theoretically Sunni, but practise a more liberal form of Islam that is heavily influenced by Christianity and other religions. A defining feature of Alevism is the veneration of the graves of prominent men, reverently referred to as baba, or father. They are often associated with Christian saints, which is why some feast days coincide, and both Alevi Muslims and Christians gather together at their shrines.

In Bulgaria, the Alevi community has a number of such shrines, the best known of these being Demir Baba near Isperih and Ak Yazili Baba near Balchik, in Bulgaria's northeast. Fewer people are aware of the existence of the shrine of Hizir Baba, in the village of Gorna Krepost, in the Rhodope. It is located at the foot of one of Bulgaria's most popular tourist sites, the rock city of Perperikon.

On 1 May, thousands of people gather around the shrine to commemorate Hizir Baba. Many of them bring the so-called kurban animal, usually lamb, that is sacrificed in accordance with halal rules, and is then cooked and shared with the whole community. 

St George's Day

When: 6 May

St George's Day, or Gergyovden, on 6 May has been a fixture in the Bulgarian traditional calendar for centuries and is one of the most popular festivals in Bulgaria.

St George's popularity is only partly based on the heroic legend about the slaughter of the dragon. In the early centuries of Christianity, the saint was welcomed in the Balkans as he was strongly reminiscent of a local deity, the Thracian Rider. The memories for the pagan god gradually faded, but were never completely forgotten. This accounts for the traditional slaughter of blessed lamb as a part of the celebrations. 

St George is also the patron of sheep, livestock and shepherds, and in traditional Bulgarian society, which depended heavily on sheep-breeding and exported meat and wool, this was important. The feast of St George was also seen as the unofficial beginning of spring and the farming year. The youngsters would pick flowers and green twigs to make a swing, and would have a day of fun. 

In the 1880s, St George's Day enhanced its prestige when it was proclaimed the official feast of bravery, of the Bulgarian army and of soldiers. This tradition was suppressed during Communism, but after 1989 it was restored. 6 May became a bank holiday. 

In Sofia, it is celebrated with a military parade. 

St George's Day is not only for Christians. On 6 May, Muslims celebrate Hıdırellez, another spring festival. According to the legend, this is the day when the two wandering prophets, Hızır and Ilyas, met. They too are patrons of livestock and Muslim youngsters spend the feast swinging on cradles. In some mixed religion villages, Christians and Muslims mark 6 May together. 

Proms

When: Late May

TWELVE, ELEVEN, TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! WHOOO! If you feel you need help to learn counting in Bulgarian from one to twelve and backwards, the second half of May is the time to polish that skill. In cities and towns, at any time of the day and night, you will hear groups of teens clad in party dresses and suits screaming it from the top of their lungs.

This is how Bulgarian highschool graduates celebrate the end of their "ordeal" in the public education system and the beginning of their adult life. For many families, this has become an occasion to show off some of their real or borrowed wealth – the girls wear expensive dresses fit for a Cannes premiere, and the boys or their friends drive limousines, Audis and BMWs. They get together for a goodbye ceremony at school, then there is a lunch that grows into dinner with family and friends, and then the boys and girls gather at a known public place – St Alexandr Nevskiy Cathedral in Sofia, for example. There, they take photos, show off their outfits and cars, scream, drink and dance, and then they hop on their vehicles and go to a restaurant to continue partying – and counting from twelve to one. 

Nestinari

When: 3 June

This tradition is an UNESCO Intangible Heritage, and with reason. The nestinari dances are as spectacular as people dancing barefoot on live embers can be. The only place where you can see this is the village of Balgari, on 3 June, the high day of Ss Constantine and Helena, the patron saints of the rite. Despite the Christian veneer, it is evident that the nestinari dances are a remnant from pagan times.

On the evening of 3 June, there is a huge circle of embers in Balgari's square. The nestinari are inside a nearby chapel, meditating. They believe their hearts and minds will be entered by none other than St Constantine himself, who will provide them with guidance and strength.

When the dancers leave the chapel, they walk to the mesmerising music of a drum and bagpipe, to the village church dedicated to Ss Constantine and Helena. The procession goes round the church three times and then stops at the fire, which has by now been reduced to a pile of glowing embers.

This is when the most spectacular part of the rite begins. The nestinari start dancing around the fire and at irregular intervals one will lift the icon above their head and nimbly cross over the live embers.

The tradition is unmistakably pagan. Ss Constantine and Helena, two saints associated with large-scale Christianisation, were probably picked as patrons to the nestinari to do away with the association with the old pagan gods. 

July Morning

When: Sunrise on 1 July

July Morning is a new tradition, unique for Bulgaria. It started in the 1980s as a hippie celebration of individuality and freedom, and now is becoming increasingly commercialised.

On the night of 30 June and 1 July, people gather by the sea. They spend the night drinking and listening to music, and when the sun begins to rise, they play Uriah Heep's song July Morning. Why exactly this particular song by this particular band that has long been forgotten in the West?

Supposedly, because for listeners in Communist Bulgaria in the 1970s and the 1980s it epitomised the longing for being free and unburdened from society's limitations.

In the 2000s, July Morning gradually became a mainstream event and for a time was even the centre of large rock concerts organised at Kamen Bryag. John Lawton, Uriah Heep's frontman, even performed the band's emblematic song during the sunrise. 

Today, the concerts are no more but crowds still flock to Kamen Bryag and other open spaces to greet the sun on 1 July. 

Ribnovo weddings

When: Wintertime

The Pomaks are Muslims who speak the Bulgarian language as their mother tongue. Ribnovo village stands out in the community with its penchant for preserving the old ways of living. The women, for example, still wear the traditional baggy trousers and colourful aprons and kerchiefs in the same style as their grandmothers.

The Ribnovo wedding is the most spectacular tradition preserved in the community, and its most impressive part is the bride. A Ribnovo girl marries in traditional costume, a red kerchief on her head and her face hidden under a thick layer of white cream, covered with colourful sequins.

A Ribnovo wedding usually takes two days. On the first day, the girl's family displays the dowry it has prepared for the newlyweds' house for all to see – from beds and TV sets to linen and tableware. In the evening, the girl has her hands and feet covered in henna.

On the next day, the groom, his family and friends form a procession to the girl's house. They carry long planks where all the presents they have prepared for their in-laws are on show. When they reach the girl's house, an elderly woman covers her face with a thick layer of white cream and sequins. Then the bride is taken to her new home where an imam performs a Muslim wedding ceremony.

Some people say that at one time all Pomaks in Bulgaria used to marry in this fashion. Similar traditions have been recorded as well in North Macedonia and Albania. 

Koledari in Yambol

When: 24 December

Bulgaria is no exception to the increasingly globalised Christmas, but it still preserves some of its traditions born in the times when Bulgarian society was overwhelmingly rural. The most popular of these is the grand meal for the event. Unlike in the West, it is held on Christmas Eve and is... strictly vegetarian with an odd number of lean dishes and foods.

However, one Bulgarian city has preserved a Christmas tradition that has long become extinct elsewhere in the country. In koleduvane, at midnight a group of young men walk from house to house shouting "Christ is born, oh, Koledo!". They sing and dance, wishing health to the household and the domestic animals, wealth and a successful harvest. The hosts would thank them with sips of wine and rakiya, small change and food.

In the second half of the 20th century, urbanisation and modernisation decimated the tradition. Some villages around Yambol, in eastern Bulgaria, revived the rite after 1989, with the inevitable changes to adapt to modern times. Now koledari are often trained men and they dance in broad daylight, on 24 December, as a part of the Koledari Dance Festival.

Some elements of the tradition remain genuine. Koledari still dance the traditional buenek horo, clinking the spurs on their boots and singing with deep voices, to keep the flame of this ancient rite alive.