The festival, which is held on a field in the village of Mogila near Stara Zagora, starts with a burst of traditional gypsy music streaming from speakers mounted on a centrally-parked car. There is much music and dancing and merrymaking, with the girls usually dancing on car roofs so they can be seen by all the prospective husbands. Once a deal is struck couples are married quickly, sometimes even the same day!
The event takes place on the first Saturday after the start of the Orthodox Easter fast - the Day of Saint Todor, or Horse Easter. Legend has it that on this day Saint Todor puts on nine fur coats, mounts a white horse and goes to plead to God to let the summer in. For a long time it has traditionally been a day for horse racing too, and a time when all the unmarried girls and boys in a village would go for walks, make swings, dance and sing to welcome the spring and hope to meet their true love.
