Chestita nova godina i Kukeri

честита нова година!! за много години!!

Chestita nova godina!! Za mnogo godini!!

Happy New Year!! For many years!!

On New Year's Day I was in Razlog, Bulgaria. Razlog is situated in southwestern Bulgaria valley from which you have a panoramic view the Pirin, Rila and Rhodope mountains. Basically, it's gorgeous. On New Year's Day, the Municipality of Razlog hosts its annual Kukeri Festival in the town square. Each quarter (neighborhood) assembles its Kukeri dancers and, in one sense, it is a competition to see which quarter is the best.

But what is Kukeri?  According to the most trusted site on the Internet (read: Wikipedia), Kukeri is

a traditional Bulgarian ritual to scare away evil spirits, with costumed men performing the ritual. The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and large bells attached to the belt. Around New Year and before Lent, the kukeri walk and dance through the village to scare evil spirits away with the costumes and the sound of the bells, as well as to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year.

Thanks, Wikipedia, for that expert analysis!

In any case I had a lot of fun and took a boatload of pictures and a few video clips. I hope you all enjoy these.

Zhiv i zdrav (Life and life).