Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Today is All Souls’ Day, Meatfare Saturday

Photo: archive

On All Souls’ Day - Meatfare Saturday Orthodox Christians honour the memory of their dearly departed.

It is one of the special days on which the church has ordained that we remember the dead. All of these days fall on a Saturday. Church services are held on All Souls' Day followed by memorial ceremonies at which bread, wine and wheat are laid out, as well as the favourite food of the deceased. The priests thurify the food with incense and say the names of the departed. After the prayer the food is handed out with the words: God rest their souls.

People also hand out bread and wheat - a symbol of immortality - to friends and relatives. On this day the relatives of the deceased go to their graves to clean them, plant flowers and remember the good deeds of the departed. Then they pour red wine over the graves, a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ, and light a church candle to honour their immortal souls.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria mark Day in commemoration of the dead on February 22

All Souls' Day (Zadushnitsa in Bulgarian) is an important day for many Christians. On this day, we remember deceased relatives and loved ones. The first of the three All Souls' Days of the year, also known as the Great or All Souls' Day, falls on the..

published on 2/22/25 5:05 AM
Photo: Bulgarica Center

152 years of immortality... The personality of Vasil Levski continues to unite Bulgarians abroad

152 years after Bulgaria lost its beloved son and advocate for a free, independent and tolerant state – Vasil Levski, his personality continues to excite and inspire Bulgarians from all generations. Scholars continue to study the work of the Apostle..

published on 2/19/25 12:58 PM

Levski's notebook is a whole universe revealing many faces of the Apostle of Freedom

Vasil Levski is a Bulgarian revolutionary and national hero who fought for the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire. He is an ideologist, founder and organizer of the Internal Revolutionary Organization, for which grateful..

published on 2/18/25 10:20 AM