Surva International Mummers Festival 2021 is cancelled

The international festival of masquerade games "Surva", which is traditionally held in the town of Pernik, will not take place this year.

For the third year in a row, the mummers will not gather for the traditional procession in the town. This year the reason is the epidemic situation with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. In 2020, the festival was cancelled due to the water crisis in the city.

The municipality explained that they had a great desire for the holiday to take place, but a few days ago a letter was received from the Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev, informing that Pernik is again in the red zone in terms of the spread of coronavirus.

However, the traditional rituals accompanying Surva will be held in the villages on the territory of the municipality in compliance with anti-epidemic restrictions and visits to homes will not take place.

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The festival held in Pernik is the oldest festival of the masquerade games in Bulgaria. The first edition was opened on 16th of January, 1966.

In the different parts of Bulgaria mummers are called Kukeri, Survakari, Babugeri and Dzhamilari. This ancient custom became even more popular after 1985, when the festival gained international-event status.

Mummers (Kukeri in Bulgarian) is a Bulgarian tradition of Thracian origins. In ancient times the old Thracians held the Mummers Play in honour of god Dionysus.

The Mummers plays are performed by men, dressed in colourful hand-made costumes and wearing scary masks. Each wears a leather belt around the waist with huge copper bells (chanove) attached to it.

In different ethnographic regions of Bulgaria men put on masks around New Year, during the twelve days of Christmas (Christmas till Epiphany), on Sirni Zagovezni (Forgiveness Day), and on Todorova Nedelia (the Sunday before the start of the Easter Fast).