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

Traditional male dance in the icy waters of Tundzha River to take place on Epiphany

Traditional male dance in Kalofer on Epiphany (archive)
Photo: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

This year, as always, hundreds of brave men from the town of Kalofer and the whole country will embark on January 6 - Epiphany - in a men's dance in the icy waters of the Tundzha River. It is believed that anyone who enters the cold water of Epiphany will be healthy throughout the year. 

The ritual men's dance will begin at 4:30 a.m. with a solemn Divine Liturgy in the local church St. Archangel Michael. After that, everyone will head to the river in a procession, reports BNR correspondent Daniela Dobreva. 


The throwing of the cross into the water is scheduled for 8 a.m. According to local custom, the savior of the cross gives it to the youngest child participating in the ritual. After that, the men will dance a traditional round dance in the cold waters of the river.



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

Lack of cooperation from Afghanistan halts trial against migrant smugglers

The legal trial of the deaths of 18 refugees who died of suffocation in a truck found near the Sofia village of Lokorsko in February 2023 cannot begin . The reason is the lack of a response from the embassy in Afghanistan. It is not clear when the trial..

published on 8/6/25 11:37 AM

Sofia-based INSAIT institute is a co-organizer of a US AI competition

The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT), which is part of Sofia University, will be a co-organizer of the Physics-IQ Challenge competition, the university announced. The competition will be part of the..

published on 8/6/25 10:22 AM

US investors explore possible participation in Bulgaria's Chiren gas storage facility

US investors are in Sofia this week for talks with Bulgarian authorities on the expansion of the Chiren gas storage facility in northwestern Bulgaria - a project that could become a new battleground between supporters and opponents of Russian natural gas..

published on 8/6/25 8:54 AM