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St. Valentine’s Day or St. Trifon’s Day
St. Valentine’s Day or St. Trifon’s Day
February 14, 2016
“Hristos Voskrese” or Happy Easter from Bulgaria
May 1, 2016

Palm Sunday In Bulgaria

Published by freeplovdivtour at April 24, 2016
Categories
  • Traditional Bulgarian
Tags
  • Christian
  • church
  • holiday
  • Palm Sunday
  • tradition

photo: Dimitra Lefterova

Palm Sunday is a moveable feast celebrated a week before Easter by all Christians

Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. On the previous day – Saturday – Jesus Christ raised Lazar from the dead. The holiday is named after the resurrected Lazar (St. Lazar’s Day).

St. Lazar’s Day
photo: Dimitra Lefterova

Traditionally, on St. Lazar’s Day young girls (lazarki) walk around the town/village singing and carrying flowers and blooming branches with them. They perform a variety of customs connected to the holiday, dressed in special traditional clothes. They sing to all the family members of each household they visit. In return, the host gifts them eggs for Easter or money. It is believed that a house visited by the young ladies will have good luck throughout the whole year.

On Palm Sunday willow twigs are sanctified and given away

Everyone takes one and brings it home as it is a widely spread belief that these twigs not only bring health and happiness but can also heal a diseased person.

Palm Sunday
photo: dechica.com

The willow twigs symbolize the palm trees placed on the ground by the people as Jesus entered Jerusalem. He came into the town on a donkey back and the believers put their own clothes as well on the ground.

Usually, families go to church on Palm Sunday and take a couple of twigs. Then, a willow twig is weaved into a wreath and placed on a child’s head for health.

Some of the most beautiful churches in Plovdiv are part of the Free Plovdiv Tour . If you are in Bulgaria during Palm Sunday you can carry your wreath on the way of the tour 🙂

Palm Sunday
photo: Dimitra Lefterova

Palm Sunday is also celebrated as a Name Day for people who carry the name of a flower, plant, tree or other forms of vegetation. The holiday is also called ‘Tsvetnitsa’ in Bulgaria which means ‘Flower Day’.

Popular superstitions about the holiday:

  • Do not stick a knife into bread as it brings bad luck.
  • If you eat a small piece of bread sprinkled with salt at the beginning or at the end of your meal, you will be lucky for the whole year.
  • If you bake some kind of pastry but it remains half-baked on the inside it implies parting with a dear friend.

You can learn more about the holiday on our Cultural Tour HERE

 
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  • TripAdvisor

Very good way for a 1st time visitor This is a very good way for a first-time visitor to see the major sights of Plovdiv, the 2nd largest city in… Read more “”

Great walking tour Knowledgeable guide, easy pace – ends in the Old Town which is perfect for wandering at your own leisure. FreeRangeLamb, Bulgaria

Fun and informative For a first time visitor the free tour was a great way to get some historical information on the town and begin to understand its character. Emma,… Read more “”

Amazing Free Tour! This tour was recommended to us by our hostel. It is a new project that aims to provide free city walking tours every day of the year.… Read more “”

Excellent experience We took the Free Plovdiv Tour based on the recommendation from a similar organisation in Sofia. The guide we had for our tour was a newbie and even… Read more “”

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