On January 18, the Orthodox Church revers the memory of St. Athanasius the Great. According to popular belief, St. Athanasius is a patron of winter storms. On horseback, donned in a silk shirt, goes St. Athanasius into the forest and yells, “Go away, yo, winter, come, thee, summer!” And according to the Bulgarian popular belief, he does that each year on January 18, and that is why it is known as the Winter Atanasovden or Amidst Winter in the popular calendar.
It is said that from January 18 the day begins to grow by one millet seed. In some regions of the country people used to believe that plague was born on this day. To protect themselves from the deadly disease, people used to sacrifice a black hen to prepare a ritual meal.
Atanas, Atanaska, Nasko, Tina, Tinka, Tanyu, Taska celebrate their name day today.
The Bulgarian Archaeological Society 'Ivan Venedikov' issued a statement addressed to Patriarch Daniil, in response to his recent public call to end the centuries-old tradition of fire dancing, known as Nestinarstvo. "Mr. Patriarch, do not touch..
Every tree has roots. The bigger the tree, the deeper its roots. We are all united here in Southeast Europe. It is our saints that unite us, not divide us. This was stated in an interview with Radio Bulgaria by Prof. Konstantinos Nichoritis. A graduate..
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Though known mostly as one of the closest associates of Vasil Levski and a dedicated fighter for national liberation, there was actually much more to..
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