Bulgaria marked Sirni Zagovezni on Sunday

 Bulgaria marked Sirni Zagovezni on Sunday. Sirni Zagovezni - the first Sunday before Lent, is celebrated seven weeks before Easter and it is always on Sunday. Other names of the religious holiday in Bulgaria are – Siropusna Nedelya, Proshka, Sornitsa.
The most important ritual on this day is to ask for forgiveness. 
The evening of this feast is spent with close relatives and friends. Until dinner time the custom for “begging forgiveness” has to be completed – the younger kiss the hands of the older people, asking and receiving forgiveness for their mistakes and insults during the year.
During the festive dinner there is another important custom called “hamkane” or “amkane”, which is performed with a peeled boiled egg, a piece of halva or coal, which is tied to a thread hanging from above. The thread is moved around in large circles and everyone around the festive table, especially the children, tries to catch it using only their mouth, no hands are allowed. 
Sirni Zagovezni also marks the beginning of the longest period of fasting – the Easter Fast.
In some parts of Bulgaria Sirni Zagovezni is also associated with the Kukeri tradition, in which men dressed like demons try to chase away the evil spirits.
On Sunday all eparchies with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church serviced solemn liturgies in the morning and solemn evening services.
“This is a holiday marking the transition from winter into spring. It is observed seven weeks before Easter. The traditions and customs connected with this religious holiday are connected with the transition,” Sashka Bizeranovo, ethnographer with the Regional Museum of History in the town of Vidin, said. 
“This day also sets the start of the longest period of fasting – the Easter Fast. On Sunday people may eat milk, cheese, eggs, and etc. for the last time before Easter. 
A compulsory meal at tonight’s festive table should be the banitsa [a traditional Bulgarian pasty meal, prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and cheese between filo pastry, which is then baked in an oven]. 
Speaking of the Sirni Zagovezi table and meals, there is another important custom called “hamkane” or “amkane”. Another traditional meal is the rice pudding,” she commented further.
“Forgiveness is the other very important element of the Sirni Zagovezni. It is a bilateral act. One should ask and then give forgiveness. It is said that on this day everyone should forgive all the intentional and unintentional sins of one’s relatives and friends. People visit their homes and ask forgiveness, everyone should forgive so as to be forgiven. 
Another ritual done on this day is the ritual cleaning, which is one of the markers of the holiday. When there is a transition from one season to another there are such rituals connected with the cleaning of the house, killing the pest, setting fire,” the expert added.

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