Babinden (old style) is one of the big folk women's holidays, dedicated to the "grandmothers" - the women who help with childbirth. The rituals on this day are mainly subordinated to the desire to show respect and honor to the elderly women who "grandmothers" of the women in labor. This holiday is pagan and comes from the distant pre-Slavic times, but it has been preserved and was extremely revered during the Revival.
Today, Babinden has lost many of its ritual customs, but it is still celebrated by the elderly and is associated with a lot of laughter and joy.
The holiday is associated with three main elements: 1. Bathing of small children by the grandmother (folk midwife) - accompanied by blessings, smearing the children with honey and butter, donating wool and ritual buns to the grandmother. The customs have a magic-producing meaning for health. 2. A feast for young brides at the grandmother's home. All young brides whom the grandmother has babysat (whose children she has given birth to) during the year participate. They bring bread, banitsa, roasted chicken and wine. They pour water on the grandmother to wash herself and present her with a shirt, apron, towel, and socks on her right shoulder. 3. Dragging (bathing) the grandmother (the custom is only common in certain villages in Bulgaria). It is performed after the feast.
The women take the grandmother on a cart to the river or well, where the ritual bathing takes place. Everyone is decorated with ropes, red peppers, and strands of wool. They sing ritual songs with erotic motifs. Men are not allowed on the holiday. A man they meet by chance is teased. It is also celebrated to appease the disease of old women, which mainly affects children.
Source: manager.bg