Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar and takes place in spring when flowers are blooming. In Bulgaria, Easter festivities begin after Lent with St. Lazar's Day, when groups of young girls sing songs from house to house, bringing health, wealth and love. They end their rounds by dropping willow wreaths in a stream, with the fastest floating girl being named "best." On Palm Sunday, people commemorate Jesus' entry to Jerusalem by celebrating Flower Sunday and putting willow branches and blessed flowers by their home icons.

2. Easter - the brightest and thе holiest day in
Christian calendar.
Easter is the time of spring festivals, the time
of welcoming back the tulips, the crocuses
and the daffodils.
Everyone has a great time at Easter.
It takes place in spring when the weather is
ice and flowers are blooming.

3. EASTER IN BULGARIA
Easter festive in Bulgaria usually begin after long Easter lent. The first
day from Easter festive begins with so called Lazarovden (St.Lazar’s day).
Lazar’s day is a Christian Holiday named after St. Lazarus. The name
Lazarus is a symbol of health and longevity.(Lazarus was a friend of Jesus
and when he died was buried three days after his death, God
says-“Lazarus arise!”And he Lazarus did.

4. Festivities on St Lazar's Day,
devoted to young girls, pastures,
fields and woods, may have long lost their ritual significance,
but remain one of the best-loved and known traditions in Bulgaria.
The holiday is marked
each year on the last Saturday
before Easter and a day before
Palm Sunday.
Lazarovden(st.Lazar’s day)
was quite an event in the life

5. The girls would gather
in groups of about ten at the house of the
prettiest one and start from there with
their songs to make a round of the village.

6. The songs sung on St Lazar's Day praise the beauty of the maiden and her
lover, the industriousness of the farmer, the purity of maternal love and
express wishes for happiness and prosperity. Legend has it that health,
wealth and love will reign in the house that the girls visit.
fter completing their round, the lazarki returned to the house they started
from to share out among them the presents they had received. On the next
day, Palm Sunday, they gathered again to go to the river and drop their
willow wreaths in the stream.

7. The wreath to be carried away the fastest would determine
"the best girl", whose home would host a humble feast for the maidens.
he girl whose flower wreath or ritual bread floats ahead of the rest of
the objects is named Kumitsa and is treated with great respect during
the holiday.

8. At the end of the day participants in the celebration
dance a circle folk dance called lazarsko horo(Lazar’s dance).

9. On the Sunday before Easter Sunday called Cvetnitsa (The
flowers day) Bulgarians commemorate Jesus Christ’s
triumphant entry into Jerusalem through a crowd waving palm
branches, Bulgarians also celebrate the so called “Flower
Sunday” to welcome spring and close the cycle of adolescent
girls’ vernal rites.

10. In the early morning housewives put willow
branches on their front doors and after the
solemn blessing of water performed in churches
consecrated flowers and willow branches are put
in front of the home icon.