Only at 14 km away from the town of Pernik, on Viskyar Montain is located one of the oldest villages in Bulgaria – Viskyar. There is evidence about the existence of this village from the Prehistoric age. Nowadays, around 100 primarily older people live there. This is the reason why in the last few decades the masquerade was not performed very often. Young people with ties to this village took the initiative to restart the tradition.
In 2016, one person who really loves Surova, created costumes and masks for the children from the orphanage in the town and gave them the opportunity to join the International festival in Pernik. The mayor of Viskyar also supported this initiative and this is how the tradition in the village was restarted. Everybody in the little village was very enthusiastic about this idea and welcomed the children in their homes. The participation increased with time, because the grandchildren of the local population started to join the group. They all retrieved their parents’ old masks and their grandparents’ traditional costumes, repaired them and the group was ready. One of the children became the leader of the group and his grandfather created a special uniform for him. It was similar in style to the one that the grandfather would have worn in his time as a child.
In the beginning of the day, the participants in the group thought they would visit a few houses in the center of the village and the celebration would be over. They quickly realized that everybody in the village expected and invited them to their homes. Everybody was so happy to celebrate and share Surova again that the celebration lasted for hours, and the happiness for days. Only a week later, the same group participated at the International masquerade festival in Pernik and took the prize of the President of the Federation of European Carnival Cities (FECC). The following year, the group was invited to join the celebration in one of the districts of Pernik, where they were also well received and warmly welcomed by everyone.
At the beginning of this year, all the local population started to prepare for Surova again. New members joined the group and together they all created new masks, new costumes, and bought new bells. The parents were very supportive and even enthusiastic about the idea of Surova. Again, they visited all the homes in the village and stopped in the center of the village where a traditional meal was prepared for all the participants and the guests. The entire local population is very happy and grateful to have this tradition as part of their lives again. This is how the traditional New Year’s Eve, Surova – celebrated on January 13th – was reborn for a new life.
Recorded in 2019
