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I've been in Varna, my hometown, for a few weeks. From the garden, I can hear traditional folk dancers practice every week. One morning, I heard a particularly lively performance and my mother explained that a midsummer celebration was talking place that morning.
According to the tradition, the sunrise on June 24th has special healing properties that bring health and prosperity to the women who see it. Women face the sun and look at their shadows over their shoulder: if they see their full shadow, they will be healthy, if they see half of it, they will face illness. That morning, plants and herbs are said to have the most healing power, so women harvest them at sunrise. They have to collect exactly 77 and a half plants - for all known illnesses and for the one that hasn't been named yet. My eight year old niece was totally mesmerized. She thought the tradition was cool.
A few days later, on June 30th, hundreds slept on the beach to welcome the first day of July and celebrate "July Morning" - a hippie ritual started in my hometown in the 70s and named after Uriah Heep's eponymous song.
Whether it's name days, the first steps of a toddler, a new home, or the first day of school, there's a ritual for everything. Today, Slavic traditions, Orthodox practices and folk heritage blend with contemporary culture. The invitation to pick and choose what is symbolic to you, what brings you the most meaning.
Some of the most ancient practices, such as the Kukeri dancers, have survived because they kept Bulgarian culture alive during five centuries of Ottoman occupation. Some of the more recent rituals, like July Morning, were what kept young people connected to culture under Communism. Rituals, it seems, is wha keeps us together.
While they aim to be a celebration, there's also something pragmatic and sobering about these rituals. Perhaps something to remember when we think about how we are incorporating practices of meaning in our lives: what goal are they serving, what intention do they carry?
With gratitude,
V
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