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The Strumica Carnival is one of the most important custom and tradition of such kind in the Republic, which most probably went farthest in its transformation from all the traditional dances under masks, both for the time and its aim and function. The Strumica Carnival is traditionally held each year within the “Trimeri” days, that is at the beginning of the Lenten Fast, and as the name itself c a r n e v a l, from the Latin c a r n e – meat and v a l i – goodbye, that is goodbye meat which associates the beginning of the fast, in this case the Lenten Fast. The beginning of the fast or the first three days are called “Trimeri” days and they always begin on Sunday Eve of Forgiveness and last until Wednesday, within these days that is to say on Tuesday is the traditional carnival night, when masked groups stroll through the town and got to the homes where there are engaged girls and stay until the early morning hours. However regarding the relation of the carnival with the “Trimeri” days, a clear distinction should be made, or rather we will mention that its relation is only of time i.e. they correspond by time, but not in its essence, because according to its essence the “Trimeri” is one Christian tradition, while the carnival represents remnant from a cult from pagan times.

The Strumica Carnival is a very long tradition and is mentioned by the chronicler Evlija Celebija even from 1670. Passing through Strumica he wrote: ...I came to a town, situated in the foothills of a high hill and I saw that night masked people ran from one house to another, with laughter, whistle and song... that clearly indicate the possibility that it were during the “trimeri” carnival festivities in Strumica.
As one indicating and very probable fact and symbol for the antiquity of this carnival is that many of the marks on the masks, costumes and objects which remained in use (skin garment, horns from many animals, ox, male goat, ram), as well as the allusion to the many cripples with crutches who appear in the carnival ( exorcism, wishes for health, fertility etc.) It is characteristic only to its initial or original, pagan form which later experiences certain transformation in traditional form or mask, which is still remembered by the eldest residents of Strumica, because the carnival from whatever reasons there are, still in the sphere of hypothesis, coincides with the “trimeri” or the feast of the engaged. This is seen as the most frequent topics or motives present and most frequently repeating are bride with the groom, who symbolize the newly married couple or rather the engaged, then gypsy man and gypsy woman with a baby, meaning as the gypsies have lot of children, so the newly married couple may have large posterity i.e. to have many children, then here is the priest who blesses the young for happiness, well-being and harmony in the marriage, here is also the devil most frequently with horns, with a tail from ox or some other animal, with pitchfork in the hands, who is chased by everyone, and which symbolism is to chase off the all the evil forces or influences which might occur and harm the newly married couple. Very frequent motive that appears are men masked as women with marked feminine attributes and vice versa, aiming to show most frequently the physical traits that the man wants the woman to have and vice versa.
Other feature of the carnival traditional form which aim and purpose coincide with the previous is the inheritance of many erotic elements, the songs filled with erotic motives, contents and words, recognizing the boy by the big falus, made of a bottle or other object which aim is didactical, that is instruction and preparation of the bride for the future matrimonial and sexual life.

Here are also the musical accessories, or musical instruments, the guitar, the accordion, tambourine, which every masked group that goes from one house of engaged girl to another has, and are played and are important for merrymaking and creating festive mood.
Today the carnival acquires its third dimension, or rather one more contemporary, modern dimension, with some influences from similar carnivals in the world, and through its organized and prize character, receives other more contemporary connotation; however the traditional character of the carnival and going from one house of engaged girl to another as a tradition still remains.
Through the multicolored appearance, figures and masks with different motives and topics, it persists to show the indefinite struggle that is the dualism and the antagonism between the good and the evil, the realism and the sarcasm, the irony, the satire and the tradition, the cowardice and the careerism, the government and the anarchy and all that followed by one great liveliness and dynamics characteristic to the residents of Strumica, who are known to be great lovers, and in all this ceremony they participate equally, that is all the structures are involved – the social, age and gender structure of the participants. The masks are chosen by the participants themselves. Each participant chooses his/her own topic and idea for masking, while the group masking is the joint idea of the whole group. The masks are made by the participants themselves and very rarely appear as ready made masks. The preparation or the making starts very early, mainly 2-3 months, and even more before the carnival itself. From the mask types the most frequent are anthropomorphic, and also there are zoomorphic and zoo-anthropomorphic masks. In those days the whole town lives with and for the carnival. It is a great event in which many hundreds of masked people are involved through the streets of the town, as well as several thousand visitors from Strumica and lately from other towns of the Republic, as well as from abroad, who watch this very attractive and wonderful tradition. So the number of the carnival participants and the visitors increases enormously every year.

As it was previously mentioned, the time when the carnival is held is within the “trimeri” days, or at the beginning of the Lenten Fast.
The “trimeri” in its initial meaning and form is one very old Christian tradition, originating from long time ago i.e. from the beginning of the Christian faith. The name itself comes from the Greek words tris meres in translation – three days and meaning three days’ fast. They are from the first week of the Lent, known as first-fast or Todor’s week and represent a stricter or oldest fasting form, because during these three days they fast, the ones who fast can not either eat nor drink. The “trimeri” are in fact the beginning of the Great Lent, which lasts seven weeks, or with the so-called Meat fare week - eight weeks. They start from Shrovetide or Forgiveness day, which is always on Sunday and last until Wednesday, which means that the date is changed according to the date of Easter, however the days remain the same Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Most frequently during these fasts the engaged girls and the girls to marry or the unmarried girls were fasting. Usually many girls gathered to fast together in the house of the engaged girl. Most frequently they were the friends of that engaged girl or girls invited from the groom’s family, who sleep and stay together during the fast. The other family members or guests coming to the house where they stayed strictly avoided to drink water or eat in front of the “trimeri” girls, and even to talk for drinking or eating, because it was considered as a great sin. Also it was a sin if some of them who started fasting breaks off the fast and started to bite as the people said. The custom was if some girl started to fast during “trimeri”,to do those three to five years in a row.
The ones who succeeded with the “trimeri” early in Wednesday morning go to the church to be given from the priest ajazmo or blessed water from Epiphany and blessed bread. After they take the ajazmo they could drink and eat all kinds of meals, however they should be fasting and that they were relieved of doing any work. The engaged girls who fasted until the end, were brought by their mothers-in-law gifts of food, a reward for the great success they brought them trays with many Lenten meals, this tradition is still observed. Today this “trimeri” fast is observed very rarely.
The “trimeri” have lost its initial or original form and meaning; however as a tradition in Strumica it is still observed and exists with all the ceremonies accompanying this tradition. The overall “trimeri” ceremonial or as it is also known as the feast of the engaged is held at the home of the bride, on Wednesday and that day is celebrated only by women, who go for a lunch at the engaged girl’s house. The guests invited by the mother-in-law go in a group, that is first they gather at the house of the mother-in-law and from there all go for a lunch at the engaged girl’s house. Each guest at the lunch brings a present to the bride. Usually there are about fifty women at the lunch, but somewhere this number can be 150 and even 200 women, because previously only the mother-in-law was bringing guests, while nowadays also the mother of the engaged girl invites her guests.
The lunch is served somewhere after 12 o’clock and for that occasion are cooked special Lenten food such as, stuffed pickled cabbage with rice and instead of meat filled with walnuts, Lenten white bean, boiled corn with walnuts, and for dessert zerde is served (rice pudding without milk but with water), white halva, fruit, Turkish delight and compote from plums and raisin, while instead of bread a pie is divided, or churek, kneaded with raising powder from cheak-pea so-called cheak-pea pies kneaded by the engaged girl. For drinking they serve only boza brought by the mother-in-law, usually in copper jugs. The lunch passes in a very merry mood and because here only women are gathered, they make various shameless conversations and sing various songs with erotic contents.
.........................................................................Ilija Suvariev - ethnologist