(Šop region, Bulgaria) St. Lazarus, a celebration of fields, pastures, forests, and the transition from girlhood to maidenhood. On this holiday, girls aged from ten to sixteen dress up in new finery bedecked with greenery and head wreaths. They dance and sing from house to house, with the hostess of each residence challenging them to jump high to summon tall crops and livestock fertility. For their songs, dances, and leaps, the girls are awarded with eggs to fill their baskets.

“Hey, I drove my horse to water, and he drank his fill. / The sun shimmered as it set. / Dona picked herbs. / Hey, a young couple, Mitro and Tiza, stood by the wall. Mitro said to Tiza, ‘Come to me,’ and they agreed to run away together. / Stana ran away through nine green forests, and she found cold water. / Little doll-like girls dance along silver streets. One wasn’t there, because her mother was braiding her hair in fine rows. / Hey, a falcon drank water from the Vardar River.”