People of all ages gathered on the Place de Liberation in Ruse on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Christ together, a unique joint celebration, because Easter this year coincided for Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Confessions.
The majority of Bulgarians identify themselves as oriental Orthodox, while Roman Catholicism is a minority religion. The latter generally celebrate Easter a few days before Orthodox Christians, but from time to time, the dates coincide. For the end of 2001, Christians from the two groups met.
Hundreds of dancers and citizens participated in a folk dance played in circles and chains.
One of the dancers explained the importance of maintaining traditions alive. “The Bulgarian spirit, a very important thing, which is our traditions, which is very important to observe each time,” he told Euronews.
A mother who attended the celebration of the Liberation Place with her daughter told Euronews “the atmosphere of this holiday is to be with your family, to dye eggs, to make kozunatsi”, which is a traditional sweet bread cooked for the occasion.
According to the Christian Orthodox tradition, families dye Holy Thursday. The first egg must be dyed in red, symbolizing the blood of Christ.
On the square, children and adults holding the colored eggs align in preparation for the combat with playful eggs, where they will get their eggs closer against each other. Whoever ends with the last uninterrupted egg is the winner and should have a year of good fortune and health.
