Lazarice (Serbian:лазарице),[1] also known by itsBulgarian nameLazaruvane (Bulgarian:лазаруване),[2] is aSouth Slavic traditional procession during theEastern Orthodox feast of Lazareva Subota (corresponding to but distinct fromLazarus Saturday in otherEastern Orthodox Churches), the day beforePalm Sunday. Historians and anthropologists think that Lazarice originated from theRoman Empire festivalRosalia, popularized in Southeastern Europe by theRomans after their conquest ofBalkans in the 2nd century BC.Slavic tribes, settled in the Balkans in the 6th to 7th centuries was adopted and developed part of the Greek-Roman traditions in theirrituals.[3]
Traditionally, a girl who has never participated in the ritual may not marry or be engaged. The ritual is performed by young girls (typically of age 16 who are unmarried), calledlazarki (Bulgarian:лазарки). The girls decorate their hair richly and colourfully (usually with flower and ribbon wreaths) and dance around the village singing songs. They stop from house to house, performing songs and blessing the homes, accepting small presents and food from the hosts, typically the men. They meet by a river, where they drop their wreaths. It is said that the girl whose laurel first takes the lead will be married first. Traditionally, the groups of lazarki would number around 14, but there are regional variances. It is no longer widely practiced in the large cities where many people live, and tends to be kept alive in the smaller villages, at least those which have young girls.[4]
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