Newsletter Newsletters Events Events Podcasts Videos Africanews
Loader
Advertisement

Folk dancing and dyed eggs as Bulgaria's Ruse celebrates Easter

People of all ages gathered on Liberation square in Ruse, Bulgaria to celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 20, 2025.
People of all ages gathered on Liberation square in Ruse, Bulgaria to celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Copyright  Euronews
Copyright Euronews
By Euronews Bulgaria & Evelyn Dom
Published on Updated
Share this article Comments
Share this article Close Button
Copy/paste the article video embed link below: Copy to clipboard Copied

In Bulgaria, both Orthodox and Catholic Christians celebrate Easter, with the latter usually coming a few days before. Every so often, such as this year, the two take place on the same day.

ADVERTISEMENT

People of all ages gathered on Liberation Square in Ruse on Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ together, a unique joint celebration, as this year's Easter coincided for both Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox faiths.

The majority of Bulgarians identify as Eastern Orthodox, while Roman Catholicism is a minority religion. The latter usually celebrate Easter a few days before Orthodox Christians, however every so often, the dates coincide. For the eigth time since 2001, Christians from both groups have come together.

Hundreds of dancers and citizens took part in a folk line dance performed in circles and chains.

Thousands of people form lines and chains in a traditional Bulgarian folk dance. Sunday, April 20, 2025.
Thousands of people form lines and chains in a traditional Bulgarian folk dance. Sunday, April 20, 2025. Euronews

One of the dancers explained the importance of keeping traditions alive. "Bulgarian spirit, a very important thing, which is our traditions, which is very important to observe every time," he told Euronews.

A mother who attended the celebration in Liberation Square 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 baked for the occasion.

As per Christian Orthodox tradition, families dye eggs on Holy Thursday. The first egg must be dyed red, symbolising the blood of Christ.

Children holding dyed eggs, partaking in the traditional Easter egg fight. Sunday, April 20, 2025.
Children holding dyed eggs, partaking in the traditional Easter egg fight. Sunday, April 20, 2025. Euronews

In the square, children and adults holding the coloured eggs line up in preparation of the playful egg fight, where they will take turns tapping their eggs against each other. Whoever ends with the last unbroken egg is the winner, and is expected to have a year of good fortune and health.

Go to accessibility shortcuts
Share this article Comments

Read more

Christians celebrate Easter Sunday across major European cities

From Kenya to Antarctica: Poland's Easter egg museum brings global traditions together

Germany's Sorbian ethnic minority prepares for Easter with traditional eggs