Lazarice

What it is

Lazarice is a spring procession kept in parts of the Balkans. The girls who take part are called lazarki, a word from the name Lazarus. They are usually about sixteen and not yet married. The group walks through the village and sings. In the past a group might have held around fourteen girls, though the number differs from place to place. The ritual belongs to Lazareva Subota, the Orthodox feast on the eve of Palm Sunday. In Bulgarian the custom is called Lazaruvane, and Greek speakers know a form of it as Lazarines.

Origins and history

According to historians and anthropologists, the procession descends from Rosalia, a festival of the Roman Empire. Romans brought it to southeastern Europe after they took control of the Balkans in the second century BC. Slavic tribes who settled in the region during the sixth and seventh centuries took over part of these Greek and Roman customs and gave them their own shape. Today the rite sits inside the Orthodox feast of Lazareva Subota, named for Lazarus, so an older seasonal custom and a Christian holy day are kept together.

How it is kept

On the day, the lazarki gather and dress their hair with wreaths, often made of flowers and coloured ribbons. They go from door to door, singing as they walk, and each household receives a song and a blessing. The people inside, usually the men, give the girls small gifts and food. Later the group meets at a river and sets the wreaths on the water. People say the girl whose wreath drifts ahead of the others will be the first of the group to marry.

What it means

For the village, the procession is a blessing on the homes it visits and a sign that spring has come. For the girls it marks a step in growing up: a girl who has never joined the lazarki, tradition says, may not be engaged or married. So taking part is not only a performance but a public sign of adulthood and readiness for marriage. The floating wreaths carry the same hope, turning the river into a way of reading who will wed first.

Today and change

Large cities no longer see the procession much, because many people live there and village ties are looser. The custom survives mainly in smaller settlements, and it depends on having young girls who are willing to take part. Where the ritual is kept, families and neighbours pass it on to the next group of girls. Scholars have written about it in Serbia and Bulgaria; studies of village life around Leskovac and of spring customs from Chiprovtsi are among the sources.

How Lazarice is kept

Unmarried girls, usually around sixteen, make up a lazarki group. They dress their hair with wreaths of flowers and ribbons. The group walks through the village singing, stopping at one house after another. At each home they sing and bless the household; the hosts, usually the men, hand over small presents and food. Afterwards the girls meet by a river and place their wreaths on the water. The wreath that moves ahead is read as a sign of who will marry first. Groups once numbered about fourteen, with local differences.

When and where

It is kept once a year on Lazareva Subota, the Saturday that falls before Palm Sunday, so its date moves with the Orthodox Easter cycle. The feast is named for Lazarus. In English-speaking Orthodox churches the same day is known as Lazarus Saturday.

The procession belongs to South Slavic communities in the Balkans. The sources tie it to Serbia and Bulgaria in particular, and records also connect it with Kosovo and Moldova. It is strongest in villages, not in the big cities, where it is no longer widely practised.

What Lazarice means

The girls' songs and blessings are meant to bring good to the homes they visit, and the procession announces spring and the coming of Easter. Participation also carries a promise about the future: tradition holds that a girl who has never been a lazarka may not be engaged or married. The wreaths set on the river turn that hope into something visible, since the one that floats ahead is said to belong to the girl who will wed first.

Days Lazarice is marked

Questions people ask about Lazarice

See also

Saint George's DayA saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSaint Nicholas DayThe feast day of Saint Nicholas, kept in Advent with gifts, shoes and church servicesSlavaAn annual Serbian family feast honouring their patron saint with blessed bread and wineRadonitsaA spring day when Orthodox families visit graves, share Easter food and greet the dead

Good reading and sources

• Lazarice on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.