ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Orthodox Christians venerate St. Anna - Mother of the Theotokos 

Photo: Archive

On December 9th we celebrate St. Anna - the mother of the Virgin Mary. Joachim and Anna had been childless for many years and prayed to God to grant them a baby. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to Anna and told her that she would give birth to a daughter, Mary, for the salvation of the world. Grateful for the news, she promised to dedicate the child to God. True to her word, she and her husband took the three-year-old girl to the temple. 

St Anna is the patron saint of marriage, family, motherhood and women. 

The Orthodox Church also honours St. Anna in the summer, on 25 July, when the day of her succession is celebrated. Today's day is known in popular tradition as St. Anne's Winter or St. Anne's Conception. Traditionally, the meal is fasted, as the feast falls during Christmas Lent. 
In Hebrew, the name Anna means grace, mercy, favour. Name Day on 9 December celebrates all those who bear the name Anna, Anka, etc.

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.
Radio Bulgaria History and religion    Orthodox religion Saint Anna traditions

More from category

Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia

Today, Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The center of the festivities is Plovdiv, where on this day in 1885, after the entry of the Golyamo Konare detachment into the..

published on 9/6/25 10:45 AM

Three points of views by Bulgarian historians on the Unification of Bulgaria in 1885

In June 1878, after the 10 th Russo-Turkish war in a row, at the Berlin congress, the lands in the Balkans inhabited by Bulgarians were divided up into five. Northern Dobrudja was handed over to Romania. Serbia got the Sanjak of Niš. The lands..

published on 9/6/25 8:05 AM

Priceless exhibits chronicle the Unification proclaimed 140 years ago in Plovdiv

It was 1883 when construction began in Plovdiv on the building of the Regional Assembly of Eastern Rumelia, based on a design by architect Pietro Montani. Eastern Rumelia was an autonomous Bulgarian province within the Ottoman Empire and one of the..

published on 9/5/25 6:40 PM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 20 | Max: 26
Partly Cloudy
Min: 19 | Max: 27
Partly Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 33
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 16 | Max: 31
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 30
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 30
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 31
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 30
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 32
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 32
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 29
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 31
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 31
Partly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 31
Partly Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 25
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 31
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Priceless exhibits chronicle the Unification proclaimed 140 years ago in Plovdiv

It was 1883 when construction began in Plovdiv on the building of the Regional Assembly of Eastern Rumelia, based on a design by architect Pietro..

published on 9/5/25 6:40 PM

Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia

Today, Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The center of the festivities..

published on 9/6/25 10:45 AM

Three points of views by Bulgarian historians on the Unification of Bulgaria in 1885

In June 1878, after the 10 th Russo-Turkish war in a row, at the Berlin congress, the lands in the Balkans inhabited by Bulgarians were divided up..

published on 9/6/25 8:05 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"