Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Roma community in Bulgaria celebrates Roma New Year on January 14

Photo: BGNES

На Васильовден ромите честват своята Нова година
На 14 януари ромската общност в България празнува своя най-значим празник Васильовден или Банго Васил - „Куцият Васил“. Празникът е известен като „Ромската нова година“ и се чества от всички, независимо дали са християни, мюсюлмани или от друга религия. В различните краища на България на 14 януари празникът се отбелязва чрез сурвакане или чрез превъплъщаване на главата на семейството в ролята на Банго Васил, който хвърля в дома жито и ориз. Всичко това се прави с особена тържественост, защото се вярва, че носи плодородие, щастие и късмет. Заради противоепидемичните мерки здравните власти препоръчват сурувакането да е само в семейна среда, без да се обикаля по къщите.
On St. Basil's Day, the Roma celebrate their New Year 

On January 14, the Roma community in Bulgaria celebrates its most important holiday, St. Basil's Day or Bango Vasil - "Lame Vasil". The holiday is known as the "Roma New Year" and is celebrated by all, whether Christians, Muslims or any other religion. In different parts of Bulgaria on January 14 the holiday is celebrated by survakane or by incarnating the head of the family in the role of Bango Vasil, who throws wheat and rice at home. All this is done with special solemnity, because it is believed to bring fertility, happiness and luck. Due to the anti-epidemic measures, the health authorities recommend that suruvakane be only in a family environment, without going around the houses.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

US Congress

Bulgarian books donated to the Library of the US Congress

The Director of the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, Raina Mandzhukova, provided books free of charge for the fund of the Bulgarian Department in the Library of Congress in the US , the agency announced. The donation includes specialized literature for..

published on 1/30/25 12:02 PM
A boat processes the scene of the incident near Ronald Reagan National Airport, January 30, 2025

No reports of injured Bulgarian citizens in the plane crash in Washington

The Bulgarian Embassy in the USA has no reports about the presence of Bulgarian citizens on board the plane that crashed in Washington on the night of January 30, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced.  The Bulgarian diplomatic mission in..

published on 1/30/25 12:00 PM

Bulgarian authorities make efforts to establish a Tourist Guarantee Fund

Bulgaria's Minister of Tourism, Miroslav Borshosh, has held a series of meetings with business organizations in the tourism industry . The main topics of the talks were the need to introduce a Tourist Guarantee Fund, the fight against the gray sector..

published on 1/30/25 11:53 AM