Balgarianovinite.com Hundreds of mummers paraded through the streets of Blagoevgrad during this year’s Masquerade Games Festival on Sunday. Groups from almost all settlements in the municipality, along with a visiting group from Petrich, recreated the colourful kukeri traditions of the Pirin region.
Each group presented a custom characteristic of the past. A three-member jury comprising Pavlina Solachka, Chief Assistant in Ethnology and Balkan Studies Faculty at Neofit Rilski South-West University, Kristian Balabanov, Chair of the local branch of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, and Borislav Mutafchiyski, an ethnographer at the Regional History Museum, assessed the colourfulness, the authenticity of the traditions presented, and the innovations introduced by the participants.
The groups showcased a wide variety of characters, while the larger ensembles formed long horo dances that filled almost the entire central square of Blagoevgrad.
“Among the mandatory characters in the survakar games in the Pirin region are the bride and groom, bears and bear-handlers, figures dressed in animal skins – known locally as babugeri – as well as people in traditional costumes performing festive horo dances,” Mutafchiyski told the Bulgarian News Agency. He noted that while it is important for groups to adhere as closely as possible to established traditional practices, the jury also values innovation.
Tradition is something that evolves, folklore changes as well, but it is important that people engage with it from the heart, Mutafchiyski said. According to him, the most essential element of these customs is the people who recreate them. “They are the ones who return to their past and pass the traditions on to the younger generation. Bulgarians respect and cherish their traditions, especially masquerade rituals, but also songs and dances – something that can only make us glad,” the ethnographer added.
The sound of cowbells echoed throughout central Blagoevgrad all day as each group took part in the procession. The pedestrian shopping street was filled not only with survakari, but also with festival spectators. The most striking figures each year are the babugeri, dressed in heavy animal skins and wearing bells weighing dozens of kilograms. This year, as in previous ones, not only men but also many women and children took part in the festivities wearing the traditional skins. Once again, the kukeri of Blagoevgrad demonstrated the continuity of the tradition, with hundreds of children from across the municipality participating in the survakar rituals. Some of them were only a few months old, the organisers noted. Hundreds of Mummers Parade in Blagoevgrad during Masquerade Games Festival 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-04 15:34:09 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law