THE TOWN HOLIDAY: RITUALS, IMAGES AND CONTEXTS
Lina GERGOVA & Yana GERGOVA
Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Bulgaria
Abstract: The town holiday is not a Bulgarian phenomenon but in Bulgaria it has become particularly widespread (there is only one town that does not celebrate its holiday). It developed mainly in the 1990s till the first decade of the 21st century. Its study would support understanding specific modern urban rituality and symbolism, which indicate the relationship between authorities and communities, the development of the public sphere, the processes of constructing traditions and heritages, and the mechanism for unification of localities. Furthermore, our paper proposes a classification of the town holidays in Bulgaria and presents in brief some case studies.
Keywords: Town Holiday, Urban Rituality, Patron Saint, Festival, Anniversary