The roots of the holiday dedicated to Tryphon Zarezan go back to ancient times, when the Bulgarian lands were inhabited by the Thracian tribes, who worshiped Dionysus more than all the gods – the god of wine and vines. The ancestors of modern Bulgarians who came to the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in the 7th century adopted the Thracian traditions of winemaking and viticulture. Subsequently, the festival of winegrowers was superimposed on pagan traditions in the popular mind.
This is a holiday in honor of the Christian priest Tryphon, who was executed in Nicaea in 250. According to legend, on the day of the execution, insects attacked all the vineyards of the country, and the growers called on Saint Tryphon to protect them.
According to tradition, on this day, the vines were pruned in order to get a large harvest in the fall, therefore Saint Tryphon in Bulgaria is called Zarezan (Pruned). Nowadays St. Tryphon’s Day is celebrated not only by winegrowers, but also by gardeners, gardeners and owners of wine taverns.
Bulgarian housewives get up at sunrise. They stew and fry a chicken stuffed with rice in a sachak (shallow copper pan) and pour homemade wine into a special wooden vessel – buklitsa. They put everything together with homemade bread in a new bag of wool, and the owner of the house, throwing the bag over his shoulder, goes to the vineyards, where all the other men of the village are already gathering. From this moment, the celebration begins.
After Tryphon comes spring, and winegrowers will no longer have the opportunity to rest and gather in a cheerful company. Therefore, for three days in the Bulgarian villages there is smoke like a rocker, there is a noisy promenade. In the vineyard, the men cross themselves, each taking a garden knife and cutting off three branches from three large vines. Then, crossing themselves again, they pour the wine they brought with them onto the vines. After that, the election of the king of the vineyards begins. A crown of grape vines is placed on the king’s head, and a garland of grapes is thrown over his shoulder. He sits on a cart pulled by the growers themselves.
Having reached the village, this procession walks through the streets, stopping in front of every house. The hostesses bring out the wine in a white vessel and offer a drink first to the king and then to all the participants in the procession. The king throws the remnants of wine over his shoulder to everyone’s shouts: “May our harvest be rich! Let our house be a full bowl! “… The king replies: “Amen”.
The procession reaches the house of the king of the vineyards, where he, having changed his clothes and leaving a wreath and a garland, sits down at the head of a magnificently set table, to which all the villagers are invited. The king is chosen from among the wealthy, so that he can feed everyone in the district. Wine flows like a river on this day: according to legend, the new wine will be the same as what was served to the table at Tryphon Zarezan.
On the second day of the holiday, lighter food is served and in large quantities – compotes and pickle, so that men can recover from what they had drunk the day before. The next two days are honored as providing protection from wolves. All this time, women do not cut with scissors to prevent the wolf’s mouth from opening, do not knit, do not sew. They bake ceremonial bread and put pieces of it in livestock feed to protect livestock and people from predators.
In a number of regions of the country, the Holiday of Trifon Zarezan is celebrated (according to the old style).