Like every year of Epiphany, the Kalofer people will dress in folk costumes and go first to the church where pop Dimitar will sprinkle them with holy water for health. Exactly at 8 hours, men will plunge into the icy waters of Tundja. Around 2000 people, including children, will compete to catch the cross thrown by the priest. A mayor who has played the choir for more than 10 years will wear tricolor. According to him, there have been no sick people so far, although in previous years the ice had shackled Tundja and had to be broken. The locals joke that the secret is that the participants in the men's choir are preparing in advance. On the eve of Epiphany, men go around the houses in Kalofer and warm themselves with red wine.
Hungarian ethnologists sent by UNESCO will observe the men's dance on January 6th in Kalofer, Mayor Rumen Stoyanov announced. The reason is that the ritual is applying for inclusion in the list of world cultural heritage. Specialists will reflect every detail of the custom, which since time immemorial has been performed only in the town of Botev. In addition to UNESCO envoys, there will be other foreigners - Ukrainians and Norwegians, who have asked permission from local authorities to participate in the ice dance, which they learned from the Internet. Kalofer also expects guests from all over the country.
