Surva Mummers
14 January 2026 — Jingle-jingle! We chase the evil away and bring you health and plenty!
Surva is an old Bulgarian custom for health and fertility. It is celebrated on the Old New Year – 14 January in the modern calendar, which corresponds to 1 January in the old Julian calendar. The rituals begin on the night before, 13 to 14 January. In the Pernik region and neighbouring parts of western Bulgaria, mummers known as survakari go from house to house on the night before the holiday. Similar masked groups elsewhere in the country, such as the kukeri, come out later, around the pre-Lent carnival. They wear furs and frightening masks, often horned, and hang heavy bells from their belts. According to belief, the noise and the dance drive away evil spirits. Hosts welcome them with treats, and the mummers wish everyone health, luck and a good harvest. A related custom is survakane: children go around with a survachka, a decorated cornel twig, tapping people lightly on the back for health and plenty. The International Festival of Masquerade Games “Surva” in Pernik usually takes place at the end of January, not on the day of the holiday itself. It is a winter custom tied to the turn of the year and to the hope that the days keep growing lighter after the winter solstice.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of bright dots and thin lines, like a constellation moving across the sky: a dancing mummer with a horned mask, a shaggy fur coat and a belt of bells, with tiny stars twinkling at every step
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