Visit Bulgaria and become part of the different world of the Kukeri Carnival
Kukeri Carnival – The boundless magic called Kukeri Carnival! Among the most colourful customs in the Bulgarian Calendar of traditions are the Kukeri Games. When you travel to Bulgaria you will see for yourselves that people preserved the custom with its whole pagan power.
Although the custom bears the peculiar characteristics of each different region, as a whole, the ceremonies and rituals are pretty much the same. Once you’ve been part of the spectacular scenario of folk theatre, kukeri games, you will come back again and again. For the sound of the cow-bells called ‘chan’ that starts early in the morning cannot be mistaken; as well as the scary, hairy masks and crazy costumes and the people wearing them jumping around.
Travel to Bulgaria for a festive Bulgaria holiday
The roots of this holiday can be sought as far back as the early centuries long before Christianity. Bulgarians used to worship Surva and devoted the holiday of New Year to that God. Asking Him to bless their fields and send happiness and prosperity to them. In ancient pagan times the man used to believe that the world of the living and that of his ancestors are one whole and closely connected. Man used to believe in his own fertility like in the fertility of his land and animals.
Strongly believing that those ancestors from ‘the other world’ had the necessary extraordinary power ‘to ensure’ that fertility, he sought for connection with them in every significant moment of his life. To be able to experience it, man needed to be ‘somebody else’. The mask is his means ‘to get to the other side’ and contribute to his own prosperity. The mask stays at the border between ‘our’ and ‘the other’ world.
Being part of a Kukeri Carnival
To be part of a Kukeri Carnival is one of the things to do in Bulgaria. The best places to visit in Bulgaria for kukeri are Pernik, Razlog, Smolyan. Actually, almost all around the country there are celebrations like that. Whole Bulgaria tries to scare the evil spirits away and meet the new season, spring. You can travel to Bulgaria and ‘cleanse’ yourselves while dancing and jumping around with the kukeri. From Christmas till beginning of spring Bulgaria is literary ‘invaded’ by Kukers.
Winter rituals start during ‘the dirty days’ (12 days from Christmas on) when according to the people’s beliefs, ‘evil power’ would come from the world of the dead. The rituals are mainly in the western Bulgaria. The main idea of the Kukers of this region is to send ‘the evil spirits’ away. Because they might harm the living. The only protected are the ones with masks. Not only are they protected, but they also have the power to protect the others.
