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BULGARIA

Mummer's Day

Mummer's Day is the date that changes every year. It is always celebrated on Monday. The word
"mummers" is also of Thracian origin and means "tall, masked people". The root of the word kuker "hook" and

its more ancient form "kauk" means "height, curvature, high place". The word "mummers" is also of Thracian

origin and means "tall, masked people". The root of the word kuker "hook" and its more ancient form "kauk"

means "height, curvature, high place".Kuker is an effective custom originating from the ancient Thracian
culture. Mummer's Day is aimed at banishing evil forces, evil spirits and everything negative gathered during

the winter.

Rose Festival

The Rose Festival in honor of the Bulgarian oil-bearing rose is the official holiday of the towns of Kazanlak,

Karlovo, Gurkovo, Pavel Banya and Strelcha. In 1903 the citizens of Kazanlak for the first time organized a

Rose Festival. It was dedicated not only to beauty and flowers, but also to charity. Rich exhibitions of roses

and flowers were organized, trips to the Shipka Monastery, specially issued cards with views of the Rose
Valley on the theme - rose picking, traditional production of rose oil and more. Funds were raised for poor

families, the elderly, orphans and those with tuberculosis. Every year, on the last Saturday of May, Karlovo

organizes its Rose Festival. It begins with the "Rose" ritual in the pink fields around the city.