FIRE DANCING

Fire-dancing is inherited. Only the head fire-dancer is the one to pass the strength and inspiration to the other fire-dancers. Head fire-dancer could become only the son or the daughter of the present one and only if he is either too old or after he has passed away. The head fire-dancer house is s sacred one because there is the so called "stolnina" or "konak"/"rasting place",which is a very small chapel where the icons of st.Konstantin and Elena are kept as well as those of the the Virgin Mary , st.George , st.Pantaleimon , and some wood-cuts from the Holy Sepulcher and red pieces of cloth decorated with a sun. There is also the sacred drum which sets the beat of the dance. It is also believed that the drum has magical powers and it can sure the one who carries it if he happens to be ill. This drum is not to be used in any other case. 

MUMMERS  OR KUKERI

On New Year`s Eve and Zagovezni in Bulgaria special rituals called Mummer`s games take place. The Mummer`s games are performed by men only. They put on special masks hand-made by each of the participants. 
Most of the masks are constructed by wood. Different colored threads are glued on it as well as pieces of multicolored fabrics, mirrors and other shiny elements. The masks representing a ram, a goat or a bull are considered the strangest. Their necessary part of the Mummer`s games proves the thesis that the origin of the mummer`s games is connected to the ancient Dionysius` games. The impact that the masked mummers make gets even bigger by the sound of the copper and bronze bells that hang on them. 
Some of the masks have two faces. On one of the sides the nose is snub and the face is good-humored and on the other the nose is hooked and the face is ominous. Those masks symbolize the good and the bad which coexist in the world and are inevitable. A very important thing for the symbolic of the masks is the color of the decoration. The red is the most used one - a symbol of the fertility of the reviving nature, of the sun and the fire; the black color embodies the earth and her goddess mother and the white is a symbol of water and light. 
The mummer`s games aim to scary and sweep away forever the evil spirits and the weird sisters with the help of the special magic dances and the scary masks, so that the crops for the next year are rich. 

LADUVANE

The Laduvane takes place on the New Year`s, St. George`s day, Midsummer and St. Lazar`s day.
With this ritual the young girls foretell who the lad they are going to marry will be and ask Lada, the goddess of love and marriage to show them what he will be like. On this day the girls bring water from the spring or the well in a white cauldron. This water has different names depending in the day in which the ritual is performed - quiet, untouched or colorful. After they bring the water the girls gather in a house and each of them leaves her ring or a bunch of flowers with a ring around them, or a bracelet in the cauldron. They leave the cauldron under the roses or some other kinds of flowers during the night under the stars. In the morning one of the lasses or a young child dressed as a bride takes the rings and the flowers out of the water and the rest of the girls are singing short songs. They sing about a fore-coming marriage, happiness in the marriage, social status and qualities of the future husband: "a ripe and over-ripe quince" (the girl will be old when she gets married); "alone you are on a stone" (she will marry an orphan); "a yellow veil gathers splinters" (the girl will get married). Each girl takes some oats from the cauldron and puts it under her pillow. They believe that whoever the boy they dream about that night is that will be the one they are going to marry. Their health during the next year is foretold by whether or not the water is freezing in the cauldron. The celebration ends with a big horo.

THE VIRGIN MARY`S SHROVETIDE

The Virgin Mary`s fast is two weeks long and ends with the big Christian holiday the Assumption, known to the Bulgarians as Goljama Bogoroditsa or Goljama Chjorkva (big church). According to the tradition the Mother of God is honored as a patron of families, children and natality. That is why at the day of her holiday women decorate the icon of the saint with flowers and put gifts - clothes, shirts and money. This is done in order for the women to get pregnant and give birth easily, for the health of the young mothers and the children. Women give each other decorated ritual breads and loaf. The day which is in the middle of the Virgin Mary`s Shrovetide is called Transfiguration of God (Sotirovden). According to the tradition the first ripe grapes are picked on this day. It is carried to the church to be sanctified by the priest. Afterwards the women give away the grapes along with some other fruit, which is done for health and wellbeing.

SAINT GEORGE`S DAY AND SACRIFICE

It is a folk holiday in honor of St. George who is the patron of shepherds and herds. This holiday has a lot of rituals connected to various spheres of Bulgarian life. The typical cattle rituals are interwoven with rituals connected with agriculture, health and wellbeing.
In the spring night before the holiday lasses and girls gather flowers and herbs from the fields for the ritual feeding of the sheep and cattle. Three wreaths are made from the flowers: one for the sheep that will be milked first, one for the lamb that will be given as a sacrifice for the saint and one for the bucket with milk in it. The homes and the cattle sheds are decorated with green spring leaves. The shepherds take the herds out for a grazing before sunrise and when they come back a ritual milking is performed. A lamb is slaughtered on Gergjovden as a sacrifice to the patron saint. A big table for the whole village is set on the green fields in front of the church yard, outside the village or near the cattle sheds. Other ritual meals are put on the table except for the roasted lamb. The Gergjovden bread has a special place on the table. In the Eastern parts of Bulgaria the young girls stand up next to the table so that the hemp goes tall. Then they rush into the fields and the children throw crumbs from the bread at them as they believe that brings fertility. Horo leaded by the best shepherd or a pregnant woman with a green branch in her hand is played around the table all day long.

The Gergjovden sacrifice: The first born male lamb is chosen for that ritual. They put a flower on it, a candle is put on the right horn and it id lit before the slaughtering. In Southern Bulgaria they slaughter the lamb in the garden under a fertile tree and they leave the blood to get soaked in the ground and in Western Bulgaria the slaughtering is done near a river where the blood runs out into the water. It is believed that the blood has protecting powers. They make a blood cross on the children`s forehead to keep the evil eyes away. The bones are gathered and are buried in an anthill after the holiday so that the sheep become as much as the ants or they are thrown away in the river so that the milk start running like water. The whole Gergjovden lamb is roasted and a green spray is put on it.

GRANDMOTHER`S DAY

It is celebrated in grandmothers` honour - midwifes for the health of children and pregnant women.  On this day three rituals are performed: children`s bathing, a feast in grandmother`s home and grandmother`s bathing. 
From the Annunciation, grandmother prepares butter, honey, millet, a bunch of geranium and red wool. Early in the festive morning she visits each house where she has assisted in childbirth. There she baths the children beginning from the smallest one and she sprays lasses and young girls against the evil eye. Then she spreads the children with honey and butter. This spreading is called "painting red" and it is made for children`s health