Мost of you know the bright customs of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, which are celebrated on the weekend before Easter. Therefore, we refer to a few little-known but curious facts related to these two beautiful spring holidays.
Did you know that…
- Lazarus Day is a Christian holiday, but its traditional celebration in Bulgaria is not associated with the legend of the resurrected Lazarus, but with a pagan ritual. The image of Lazarus in Bulgarian folk mythology has an axe cutting through the trees because it is believed that he is the commander of the forests and woods.
- According to popular belief, a girl who has not Lazarus will be abducted by a dragon in love with her.
- The lazars sing different songs. When they gather in one of the departure lazars, they sing a song. Going home, they sing another, and now, according to the host and his social status, they choose a third song from the many options.
- On Palm Sunday, the lazars drop their wreaths of willow branches into the river. The wreath that overtakes the others entitles its owner a kumitsa. She should give wise advice to other girls throughout the year and prepare special bread. This bread is called a doll, and in some parts of the country, it is called kravaj or kolak.
- In some regions of Bulgaria on Palm Sunday rites are performed related to the belief that on Vrabnitsa the dead come out of their graves and expect their relatives to bring them something. Early in the morning, women go to cemeteries with willow twigs, corn stalks, incense burners and water. They smoke and overflow the graves of their loved ones.
- According to statistics from 2019, there are 367,093 people celebrating Palm Sunday. Of these, 282,749 are women and 84,344 are men. Rositsa, Margarita and Violeta are among the most common female names in our country. 28,998 Bulgarian women are named Rositsa, 25,426 are called Violeta, and 25,104 are called Margarita.
We wish you bright and smiling holidays! And if you need a supply of LPG to your home, do not hesitate to contact us on the national number: 0700 20204, from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 12 noon on Saturdays. Our deliveries in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Shumen, Blagoevgrad, Pleven and Sozopol are made from Monday to Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm.