On February 10 the Christian Orthodox church reveres Saint Haralambos (Haralampi) who has been considered the patron saint of beekeepers from time immemorial. There are other dates in the Bulgarian traditional calendar set aside for bees and the products they bless man with. One is in July – the day of St. Procopius (Procopi), popularly called “beekeeper”. On that day too rituals are performed for a bountiful honey yield, for health and prosperity.

Wondrous young lass flying over meadows, singing wondrous songs, once home a sweet meal she cooks – goes one of the most popular riddles about bees. There are numerous St. Lazarus and Christmas songs dedicated to bees with wishes for girls to be as hard-working as bees are, and when the time comes – to “swarm” as they do. According to legend the “bug God blessed” received a priceless gift – that everything coming out of it would be “sweet” and medicinal.

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, the bee did God a big favour but was herself hurt. To redeem and reward her He blessed her. And here is what happened: God decided to marry the Sun and invited all living creatures, except for the Devil. That made the Lord of Evil very angry so he mounted a rabbit and went to God’s house. Once there, he laughed and started babbling. To find out what the Devil was saying, God sent the bee, which was “light of wing and swift of foot”. The bee alighted on the devil’s hat and listened in to what he was saying: “How stupid can you get to be marrying the Sun. Now there is one Sun and in summer it burns everything. But what if they breed and there are many suns, what then?” The bee flew off to tell God what she had heard but the Devil espied her and gave chase. He started aiming arrows at her and hit her in the waist. Wounded, her body broken in half she somehow managed to get away and went to see God. She told him everything, he changed his mind and called off the wedding. But the bee was inconsolable – she was wounded but had also “wet herself” out of fear and felt humiliated. So, God comforted her: “Hush, don’t cry. You shall live as you are now – broken in half. And yet you shall be bonny and shall sing always. As to the “mess” don’t you worry, from now on it shall be blessed and sweet-smelling. Let it be offered to me as the nicest and most agreeable gift. Let what is dirty and shameful in other animals, be pure, sweet and blessed in you.” That was how the bee came to be held in high esteem by one and all, and the “mess” she made turned to honey and wax. This is a story recorded at the beginning of the 20^th century by prominent Bulgarian ethnographer Prof. Dimitar Marinov, who scoured the villages around Sofia, Botevgrad, Montana, Svishtov and elsewhere for stories such as this.

According to another legend, the blessing was given for other favours. When God and the Devil were vying who would be the first to create the Earth, the sky and the animals, they were each making plans. The bee was again a secret messenger and was sent to find out what the Devil’s plans were – to make the Earth smaller than the sky and to cover the Earth with it so as to protect people and animals. The story ends in much the same way – the bee gets wounded by the Evil One and is rewarded by God.

At weddings the upper and lower sills of the door the bride would enter the house through were daubed with honey. No table on Christmas Eve, on the night before Voditsi (Epiphany) could be thurified without honey. Honey was used to appease some of the most terrible diseases – Granny Pox or the plague. The bread baked for a number of rituals was also smeared with honey. Honey and wax could never be used to cast spells but they did release from spells and warded off “evil eyes” or “evil encounters”. They are also used in traditional medicine and in sacrificial meals. In itself, wax is an offering to God, as it is used to make the candles that are lit in church.

English version: Milena Daynova