St Lazarus Day celebrated with traditional lazaruvane in Tryavna

published on 4/11/25 4:50 PM

In the afternoon, the girls will also visit the Etara Architectural and Ethnographic Complex near the nearby town of Gabrovo.

Photo: Archive/ Etara complex

The historic town of Tryavna will celebrate St Lazarus' Day, traditionally held on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. The Bulgarian custom, known as lazaruvane, is closely linked to the themes of love and marriage and will be re-enacted this Saturday, April 12, the municipality said.

Lazarus Saturday opens our spiritual eyes to the invisible miracle of God's love

According to tradition, from early in the morning, young unmarried girls, called lazarki, go from house to house, dancing and singing songs that bless the home with love, good health and fertility. In the past, it was believed that a girl who did not participate in lazaruvane would not marry, making it an essential rite of passage for every teenage girl in the village. It was also customary for young men to propose to their sweethearts on this day.

School for “lazarki” girls - an amazing experience at Bulgaria’s Etar Museum

Tomorrow, 11 girls from the graduating class of the "Petko R. Slaveykov" school will gather early in the morning in the courtyard of the Daskalova House Museum, dressed in traditional folk costumes with braided hair. Singing the folk songs of St Lazarus, they will begin to weave wicker wreaths, which they will later float down the Trevnenska River from the old bridge. According to tradition, the wreath that stays afloat the longest will reveal which girl will be the first to get married.