There's a Chinese New Year festival in Eastern Europe that's just like China's, and it's perfectly timed for 2020!

Festival travel, for tourists around the world to provide the best opportunity to experience the history and culture of the destination and the interest of life, the traditional festivals of many places, so that we can also find each other associated with the historical process and cultural practices. SurvaFestival, a traditional festival in Pernik, Bulgaria, has been celebrated for thousands of years and in some ways is very similar to the Chinese New Year.

In the SurvaFestival events, which feature rich colors, loud noises, special rituals, and more, men take on the role of Kukeri, a kind of furry "devil chaser," believing that the more intimidating the mask, the more powerful the spell against evil. Most of the performers are covered in fur and have large bells, even the largest weighing up to 50 kilograms, which make a shrill sound when they dance together to ward off evil. For this reason, the festival is also known as Kukeri?Carnival, which has a slight "Bulgarian Halloween" connotation, but there are still several versions of its origins.

In Bulgarian and ancient European tradition, it is the days after Christmas that are filled with supernatural significance - a time when people prepare for a new year and a new spring, and so need a sense of ritual to shake off the bad times, to pray for good luck in the coming year, and to take the opportunity to reunite with their families. This traditional festival has a wide influence in the Pernik region, and every January, Pernik and the surrounding villages and towns are transformed into a paradise of celebration. As a traditional winter festival, fire is an indispensable element, so when the event extends into the evening, the Kukoli Carnival dances are performed with torches and fireworks.

Pernik, Bulgaria, a 30-minute drive from the capital Sofia and its airport, is known as the "festival capital of Europe" because of its Suva Festival, one of the world's largest "costume parades. When this local tradition became part of the UNESCO World Heritage, it attracted many people from all over the world on the last weekend of January (from Friday to Sunday), e.g. in 2019 the Kukoli Carnival was attended by more than 300,000 tourists and nearly 8,000 performers, and teams from all over the world competed for the title of "Carnival of the World". performances compete.

During the Kukeri Carnival, a range of experiences can be booked for visitors interested in this, such as a tour of the mask and costume making process, or even getting their hands dirty to make a performance Kukeri outfit from materials such as wood, animal skins, cow horns and bones, beads, ribbons and wool.

TIPS

Tourists can find hotels in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, and in addition to traveling to Pernik for the Carnival events, they can also choose from a wide range of excursions in terms of culture, history, and dining;

It usually snows in the Pernik region during the month of January, and even in the winter rush hour, the drive from Sofia to Pernik will take no more than an hours;

Traditionally, Kukoli Carnival performers have been men, but now women can participate as well;

Very coincidentally, the timing of the Kukoli Carnival in 2020 coincides with the Chinese New Year.

Eastern Europe has a festival that looks just like China's Spring Festival, and in 2020 it will be timed to coincide with it

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