Kukeri are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men and sometimes women who perform rituals between Christmas and Lent to scare away evil spirits and bring good fortune. They wear masks of animals and bells and parade through villages dancing and making noise. The costumes cover most of the body and are intended to frighten away evil spirits through their appearance and sound. The rituals vary by region but aim to provide health, happiness and good harvests to villages.

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3. *Kukeri
Kukeri (Bulgarian: кукери; singular: kuker, кукер) are
elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, and sometimes
women, who perform traditional rituals intended to
scare away evil spirits. Closely related traditions are
found throughout the Balkans and Greece (including
Romania and the Pontus). The costumes cover most of
the body and include decorated wooden masks of
animals (sometimes double-faced) and large bells
attached to the belt. Around New Year and before
Lent, the kukeri walk and dance through villages to
scare away evil spirits with their costumes and the
sound of their bells. They are also believed to provide
a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village
during the year.
The kukeri traditionally visit peoples' houses at night
so that "the sun would not catch them on the
road."[citation needed] After parading around the
village they usually gather at the village square to
dance wildly and amuse the people. Kukeri rituals
vary by region but remain largely the same in
essence.

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*The custom is generally thought to be related to the
Thracian Dionysos cult in the wider area of Thracia.
Similar rituals can be also found in much of the
Balkans.[1] The name kuker has been derived from
Latin cuculla meaning "hood, cowl" or cucurum,
"quiver" (i.e. in the sense of a container; an
abbreviation of koukouros geros).
*The corresponding figure in Greek-speaking Thrace
is known as Kalogeros "rod-carrier", also shortened
to cuci, in former Yugoslavia known as didi, didici, in
Bulgaria as kuker or babushar, as momogeros in
Pontic Anatolia. In Romania, this figure mostly
appears together with a goat, known as capra,
turca or brezaia.

8. *KUKERI
*Kukeri is a divinity personifying fecundity, sometimes
in Bulgaria and Serbia it is a plural divinity. In
Bulgaria, a ritual spectacle of spring (a sort of
carnival) takes place after a scenario of folk theatre,
in which Kuker's role is interpreted by a man attired
in a sheep- or goat-pelt, wearing a horned mask and
girded with a large wooden phallus. During the ritual,
various physiological acts are interpreted, including
the sexual act, as a symbol of the god's sacred
marriage, while the symbolical wife, appearing
pregnant, mimes the pains of giving birth. This ritual
inaugurates the labours of the fields (ploughing,
sowing) and is carried out with the participation of
numerous allegorical personages, among which is the
Emperor and his entourage.

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*Capra comes from the Latin capra, meaning
goat. A halo like head piece was worn as a
crown to symbolize the spiritual divine
realm. While animal fur, bird feathers and
the sort were worn to symbolize nature. The
fact that nature has good and evil, and that
humans are the intermediary between spirit
and nature. It was a time to pay homage to
the Spieth gods. Some cultures imbibed in
human flesh to satiate the gods thirst for
blood, as an act of solidarity for the gods.

12. *KUKERIhttps://youtu.be/cQKF
nFAUdHE
*Kukeri are the Bulgarian carnival figures - men, pretended as
beasts or typical characters (grandmother, grandfather, king,
tax collector), always with head masks, often with belt chin
and fur coats outside. An old custom between Christmas and
Epiphany in Bulgaria.
*Kuker games are performed only by men who wear special
masks pre-made by each participant.
*Kuker Games aim for special evil magic and terrifying masks
to be frightened and forgone forever evil spirits so that they
have a rich harvest in the next year. The first ritual in the
Kukeri custom is to crawl all homes with wishes for health,
fertility and well-being, collecting presents from the farmers
(flour, beans, eggs, etc.). In each home, mummers perform
various comics and scenes. Finally, at the village square,
kukeri play lush dances, screaming the bells hanging on
them.

13. *Our students also take part in traditional kukeri
celebrations taking place in the region.

14. * A small mummer - Peter from second grade

15. * Students from the art groups successfully worked
together with their teachers beautiful masks