angelova

Mummers , called CHAUSH , babugeri , stanchinari , dervishes , elders , Sura or dzhamalari are Bulgarian carnival figures - men dressed as animals or typical characters ( grandparents , the king , the tax collector ) , always with masks on their heads , often with bells belt and coats with the outside. Older custom between Meat and Cheese fasting ( Sirnitsa ) in eastern Bulgaria and between Christmas and Epiphany in western Bulgaria . Today throughout eastern Bulgaria (even across Bulgaria ) Kukerovden celebrated exactly first Sunday before Lent . Mummers dance through the streets to scare evil spirits and to banish the cold, and for health and fertility ceremonies ( symbolic ) actions such as plowing , sowing , and others.