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

On the occasion of Bango Vasil

Roma children perform traditional New Year dances in BNR

5
Photo: Ani Petrova

On 14 January, the Roma community in Bulgaria celebrated its most important holiday - Vasilovden or Bango Vasil. To share the traditions of Roma folklore during the celebration of the Roma New Year, as the holiday is also known, children from the school in the village of Graf Ignatievo, Plovdiv region, were guests of BNR.

In front of Studio 1 of Bulgarian National Radio they presented a dance of different ethnic groups and "Gypsy Romance"...
.... told the story of how the Roma came to be and why they honour Bango Vasil (Limping Vasil). Legend has it that the devil destroyed the bridge the Roma were crossing, but St Basil rebuilt it and saved the Roma from drowning...  
...tapped the journalists on the back with a decorated cornel branch to wish them good luck, health and prosperity...

... treated all the guests to a traditional banitsa with lucky charms. 
The children were welcomed by the Director General of the BNR, Milen Mitev. This visit was organised by the Amalipe Centre for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance, which has been working in the field of educational integration for over 20 years.

Text: Desislava Semkovska
Photos: Ani Petrova 


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.

Gallery

More from category

Village of Trigrad is hosting the National Karakachan Dog Festival

One of the most ancient breeds in Europe, the Karakachan dog is the first Bulgarian indigenous breed of farm animal  recognized by the Animal Breeds Commission of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2005. It owes its name to the nomadic sheep breeders known..

published on 9/21/25 6:05 AM
 Pedrie and Mümin Mestan

From Kardzhali to Brussels via Istanbul – The emigration story of the Mestan family

The tailor shop of the Pedrie and Mümin Mestan family is located on one of the busiest streets in Brussels’ Schaerbeek district. They are originally from Kardzhali but have been living abroad for more than 35 years. In the summer of 1989, they left..

published on 9/20/25 11:25 AM

32nd edition of the Bulgarian Plum Festival to kick off in Troyan, village of Oreshak

The Balkan Mountain, ceramics and the plum fruit are the emblem of the Troyan region. And the locals know how to preserve their traditions. The event that marks the end of the agricultural year at the end of each September – the Bulgarian Plum Festival –..

published on 9/20/25 6:35 AM