Survakane is a Bulgarian ritual practiced on the morning of New Year’s Day. Every year, the young boys and men of the community go about the neighborhoods with “survachkas”, cornel branches bent into the form of the Cyrillic letter F(Bulgarian: Ф, this represents the cycle of the year’s end and the start of the new year) and decorated with popcorn, strings, ribbons, coins, dried fruits and nuts. The boys enter the houses and, beginning with the oldest person, gently hit the backs of the residents with the Survachkas. The purpose of this ritual is supposed to get rid of bad omens and draw in good spirits, luck and well-being. The “Survakars” are welcomed with hospitality, and when they are finished they receive gifts, such as coins and candy from the residents.
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