Today the church celebrates the Ascension of Jesus. The holiday is always marked on Thursday, 40 days after Easter. According to Christians, after the Resurrection Jesus remained on earth and preached among his disciples. On the 40th day he appeared to his disciples for the last time, talked to them and led them out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives before ascending to heaven. In Bulgarian the day is also called Spasovden (derivative of the verb meaning “to save”), because the Ascension completed the act of salvation.
According to folklore beliefs, Spasovden is related to the cult of the dead. On the eve of the holiday, people who are ill and infertile women used to sleep in meadows where dittany grew in order to get healthy. The day is a holiday of bakers and confectioners. People named Spas, Spasena, Spasimir, Spasimira, Spasiana, Spaska, etc. also celebrate today.
13 ancient graves were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted on the premises of the National Academy of Art in Sofia. The excavation is led by archaeologist Elena Nikolova from the Regional History Museum. The excavations began on..
Trapezitsa is one of the three hills for which the old Bulgarian capital, Tarnovgrad (the medieval name of today’s Veliko Tarnovo), is famous . Located to the northwest of the town, it stands across from the neighboring hill Tsarevets – the site where,..
On the feast of the Dormition of Saint Ivan Rilski, the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil led the Divine Liturgy at the Rila Monastery. On the eve of the feast, he bowed before the relics of the patron saint of the Bulgarian people..
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