Bulgarian traditions and customs before Easter TRASLATED BY ANN WOOD
In the Bulgarian church calendar, the first week of Easter Lent is called Todorova Nedelya. The names of the days of Todorova Nedelya come from the customs that are performed on the respective day, as well as from the folk beliefs for each day of the week.More: Cheese Week Has Begun: Customs and Traditions You Must Observe:
Symbolism in the Days of Todorova Nedelya (Sunday)
On Clean Monday, tradition commands women to wash all the blessed vessels with hot water, as a symbol of purification and a new beginning after Cheese Lent. This day is associated with the spring equinox and symbolizes the beginning of the new cycle in nature.
Black Tuesday, also called bad, dry, deaf or usovski, is considered the worst of all Tuesdays during the year. According to folk beliefs, this day brings misfortune and trouble, so people try not to start important matters and avoid hard work.
On Mad Wednesday, according to popular belief, everyone should celebrate to protect themselves from madness and maintain balance in their lives. It is a day of joy and celebration, when people gather, sing songs and dance to drive away evil forces and attract good health and happiness.
On Vertoloma Thursday, tradition requires strict observance of certain prohibitions, which are intended to protect people and domestic animals from "vertigo". It is believed that if these prohibitions are not observed, something unpleasant or dangerous may happen.
On Shemeten Petuk , no work is done to protect a person from illness, and the harvest from thunder, hail and drought. This day is dedicated to rest and reflection, as people believe that this will bring them well-being and protection throughout the year.
These customs and traditions are part of Bulgaria's rich cultural heritage and reflect the people's deep connection with nature and the seasons.
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The culmination of Todorova Sunday
Saturday is celebrated as Todorovden, this holiday is named after Saint Todor. In 2026, Todorovden is on February 28. The belief is that on this day Saint Todor takes off his nine coats, rides a white horse and goes to God to ask for summer to return to Earth. And because God respects the saint, even as he utters his request, outside, at the place where the majdrak (the saint's spear) is stuck, steam begins to rise and the earth warms up.
Traditions and customs of Todorovden
It is in honor of Saint Todor that horse races are organized throughout the country, hence the name "Horse Easter". On Todorovden at sunrise, men braid the tails and manes of horses, decorate them with beads, tassels and flowers and take them to a watering place.
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Women mix and distribute ritual bread, simultaneously jumping, running, imitating the movement and neighing of horses, and the finished bread is given to the animals. Wheat is also boiled, which is blessed in the church.
Then comes the turn of the horse race - the kushiya. The winner of it is awarded - the horse usually receives a bridle, and its owner - a shirt or a towel. The winner of the race goes around all the homes with his horse to congratulate the holiday. Everywhere he is welcomed warmly and his horse is given water.
The holiday meal includes
Ritual breads: Early in the morning, women prepare special ritual breads in the shape of a horseshoe or horse, which are distributed to neighbours and placed in the food of the animals. These breads symbolize the health and strength of the horses.
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Green Soup: Traditionally, a green soup is prepared with spinach or watercress, which symbolizes spring and a new beginning. The green color of the soup is reminiscent of the freshness and renewal that come with spring.
Lentils and mushrooms: Lentil soup or mushroom soup are also common on the table. Lentils symbolize abundance and wealth, while mushrooms represent the earth and its gifts.
Salads and side dishes: Various salads and side dishes such as shopska salad, pickles, roasted peppers and potatoes are also part of the meal.
Desserts: Various sweets such as baklava, pumpkin pie, cake or biscuits are offered for dessert. Fruits such as apples, pears, and walnuts are also common.
Lazarovden
Folk belief states that this day is celebrated in honor of the fields, pastures and forests. Lazarovden or Lazarnitsa is a Christian holiday dedicated to the Resurrection of Lazar. At the same time, a folk ritual custom is performed - Lazaruvane. The holiday is celebrated on Saturday of the sixth week of Lent and eight days before Easter.
Folk tradition states that Lazar is the guardian of the forests and thickets. He clears and prunes the forests so that people can make fields. Lazar has an axe in his hands, with which he cuts down the forest, thickets and makes arable land. That is why this day is also called Lazar.
Lazar of ancient Hebrew origin means "God helps". The name is a symbol of health and longevity.
This day is celebrated in honor of Lazar. The custom is widespread throughout Bulgaria.
Lazar girls go around singing songs all day long. Lazaruvane is a great religious and folk ritual. It was believed that a maiden who had not been to Lazarus could not be married (married).
Lazarus are not just unmarried women, but girls who are entering their maidenhood. It is accepted that a maiden goes to Lazarus only once.
The future Lazarus gather earlier, even before the fast, and begin to prepare for the Lazarus, i.e. learn the songs that they must sing. These songs are taught to them by the older ones, either maidens or already brides, who have gone “to Lazarus”.
The number of Lazarus is not limited, but if there are a large number in the village, they are divided into neighbourhoods. Each group goes to a designated neighbourhood, because one house should not be Lazarus twice.
On the day of the holiday, two maidens carry baskets of eggs, because Lazarus are gifted only with white eggs. Two others carry krivaks (thick sticks) – symbolically in this way they play a male role. It happens that one carries a krivak, and the other a baltiya (axe) and she is called Lazarova bulk Palm Sunday falls on the Sunday after Lazarus Day, one week before Easter, and is one of the most beautiful spring holidays. It is dedicated to the solemn welcoming of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem with olive and laurel branches. Therefore, on this day everyone goes to the festive church liturgy with willow branches, bunches of geraniums and other spring flowers. After the priest has blessed the willow wreaths, they are taken home and placed in front of the home icon. With them, women cast spells against evil spells and diseases. Often, when thunder and hail occur during the summer months, they take the willow wreaths out into the yard and, reciting magic spells, look through them at the cloud so that it will disperse far away.
Usually, the last Lazar custom is also performed on Palm Sunday - "kumycheneto". Before noon, all the Lazar women head to the river together. Each girl carries with her a bunch of flowers, a willow wreath or a small loaf of bread called a "doll". The girls line up next to each other along the bank or on the bridge over the river and simultaneously release the bunch, wreath or loaf of bread. The girl whose wreath or loaf is carried away the fastest by the water and comes out first is chosen as the "godmother" or "godmother" of the lazar girls. From that moment on, she becomes an object of special respect and honor from the other girls. On the third day of Easter, the godmother invites all the lazar girls to her home and treats them to banitsa and red Easter eggs. This common feast also concludes the lazar holiday complex, through which the girls demonstrate their new social status and their suitability for marriage.a.
When they enter a house yard, the two girls with the krivaks stand and raise the sticks, and the other girls surround them in a circle. Four other lazarki (conditionally speaking) enter this circle, veiled with a gap above their eyes. Without holding hands, they dance around the girls with the krivaks.
While the lazarki dance, the girls arranged in a circle around them sing Lazar songs. Both Christmas and Lazar songs are adapted for each member of the family and for each social status. There are songs about a maiden, a young man, a boy, a girl, a child, a bride, a host, a housewife, a shepherd, a plowman, etc. There are also songs about a mayor, a priest, a chieftain, etc. - all distinguished in peasant society.
The Lazar girls have different songs. When they gather in one of the lazars to leave, they sing one song. As they go from house to house, they sing another, and now, depending on the host and his social status, they choose a third song from the many options.
In every village there is a maiden whom all the people recognize as the most beautiful. The lazar girls sing a special song to such a maiden, praising her beauty. And in the lazar songs about a young man, they sing about his pure love and beauty, unlike Christmas songs, which praise his heroism.
The main songs of Lazarovden are blessings for health, fertility and well-being of the home. It is believed that a house visited by lazarki is happy and blessed.
After the lazarki have visited all the houses, they return to the house from which they started. Finally, they sing a song accompanied by a horo. In the evening, before they part, they agree on where they will gather the next day for the next holiday – Vrabnitsa and the Kumichene rite.
Lazarus' prayer for rain
Lazar rides on golden wheels, walks through the village,
prays to God:
– Give me, God, a little rain, a little rain,
to let the dew fall; dew to dew, grass to sprout,
peacock to graze, peacock to graze, feathers to throw,
feathers to throw, girls to harvest,
girls and brides, wreaths to weave…
Lazar women sing in the Etar on Lazarov Day
The song was published by Atanas Iliev in the “Collection of Folk Thoughts and Customs” from 1889. It was recorded in the town of Pirdop.
Lazar's Song of the Plowman
Everything is nice and pleasant, when spring has sprung,
everything has come out into the field:
Gray cattle in the forest, crows horses in the field,
thousands of sheep and hundreds of goats.
Everything is alive and healthy, everything has gone to pasture.
My plowman plows the black fallows of the field in the field, the whole fields of clover.
Angels plowed his ox, his plow was made of straturium,
his scythes of basil.
Basil smells so much that it awakened all living things.
All the creatures of God, all who followed him,
all prayed to God:
– Hear our request, God, Give us, God, grant:
to all health and life, good harvest!
Bulgarian field with wheat
Religious significance
Saint Lazarus is a disciple of Jesus Christ. Four days after Lazarus' death, he was resurrected. God says "Lazarus, come out!". Lazarus revives and comes out of his tomb. The miracle of Lazarus' resurrection causes unbearable indignation in the high priests and Pharisees.
Thus, Lazarus' resurrection becomes the immediate cause for the death sentence of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is from this day that Holy Week (the Week of Christ's Passion) begins.
Palm Sunday falls on the Sunday after Lazarus Day, one week before Easter, and is one of the most beautiful spring holidays. It is dedicated to the solemn welcoming of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem with olive and laurel branches. Therefore, on this day everyone goes to the festive church liturgy with willow branches, bunches of geraniums and other spring flowers. After the priest has blessed the willow wreaths, they are taken home and placed in front of the home icon. With them, women cast spells against evil spells and diseases. Often, when thunder and hail occur during the summer months, they take the willow wreaths out into the yard and, reciting magic spells, look through them at the cloud so that it will disperse far away.
Usually, the last Lazar custom is also performed on Palm Sunday - "kumycheneto". Before noon, all the Lazar women head to the river together. Each girl carries with her a bunch of flowers, a willow wreath or a small loaf of bread called a "doll". The girls line up next to each other along the bank or on the bridge over the river and simultaneously release the bunch, wreath or loaf of bread. The girl whose wreath or loaf is carried away the fastest by the water and comes out first is chosen as the "godmother" or "godmother" of the lazar girls. From that moment on, she becomes an object of special respect and honor from the other girls. On the third day of Easter, the godmother invites all the lazar girls to her home and treats them to banitsa( cheese pie) and red Easter eggs. This common feast also concludes the lazar holiday complex, through which the girls demonstrate their new social status and their suitability for marriage.
Short story by Ann Wood
Written on 2026-03-23 at 22:59
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