THE “DZHAVGI” CUSTOM SIRNI ZAGOVEZNI

The village of Krepost near Haskovo has its own specific holiday called “Dzhavgi”. This day could also easily be called “Valentine’s Day”, a sort of Bulgarian version of the famous holiday. Boys take fire arrows from large balefires which are usually lit on this holiday. Each arrow is about 10cm in size and is aimed at the girls. The only condition for performing the ritual is to have couples who are in love in the village. If the young people have not yet fallen in love, there must be at least a fondness of the heart, and it is the man’s job to take initiative. If his shot is accurate, then we have a couple. And as it befits lovers, this day has its own purely Bulgarian folk love song – “Stoyan has shot an arrow”