Survakane () is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n custom used to wish a prosperous new year. Survakane is a tradition performed with a decorated stick, known as a ''survaknitsa'' () or ''survachka ()'', on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

, as a measure for health during the year.

Tradition

History

Survakane dates back to ancient times, and has its roots in

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

rituals. This much is clear about the origins of the tradition, although exactly when, where, or by whom it was practiced first is still a matter of debate.

Ritual

Survakane proper is a ritual in which a member of the family, typically the youngest, lightly pats the back of others with a survaknitsa on the morning of New Year's Day (known in Bulgarian as ''Vasilovden'').''Vasilovden'' is the

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

of the name Vasil, among others, and falls on January 1. While doing this, he or she recites a short verse wishing their relative well for the new year. The members of the family (usually children) who do the ritual are known as ''survakari'' or ''survakarcheta''. Afterwards, these children are awarded snacks, candy, or small amounts of money.

Poem

The poem that survakari varies between different families. Сурва, сурва година, весела година, златен клас на нива, червена ябълка в градина, пълна къща с коприна, живо-здраво догодина, догодина, до амина. Surva, surva godina, Vesela godina, Zlaten klas na niva, Chervena yabŭlka v gradina, Pŭlna kŭshta s koprina, Zhivo-zdravo dogodina, Dogodina, do amina.

Survaknitsa

The survaknitsa or survachka is a curled branch of a cornel tree (), usually decorated with coins,

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

, dried fruits, small bagels, ribbons, and threads, although different decorations are used in different regions of Bulgaria. Typically, northern Bulgarian survaknitsas will have fruits, bread, and seeds strung on them, while coins are used in the south. The branches are usually bent so as to resemble the Cyrillic letter "f" ( Ф). The selection process for a branch is usually held a few days before New Year's, in order to have time to decorate the stick as the family sees fit. The branch can be taken from any live fruit tree, although dogwood is preferred because of its long life and early blossoming, which are supposed to represent desirable qualities.

Notes

References

{{Reflist, 30em Culture of Bulgaria Bulgarian folklore New Year celebrations