On the first day of January, the Christian Orthodox church commemorates St. Basil the Great, patron saint of charity and good deeds. A prominent Christian philosopher and thinker, he is the author of many theological works, including a liturgy bearing his name, performed at Sunday service during Lent and on the day of St. Basil.
Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte will take part in a divine liturgy today at the St. Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia, after which he will perform a solemn church service for the New Year.
In folklore tradition, there is one enduring ritual performed on the day of St. Basil or Vassilyovden, called Surva, which is still practiced in our day. For this ritual a survachka is used – intertwined cornel twigs, a symbol of health and endurance. The twigs are decorated using woolen threads of different colours, red apples, popcorn, dried fruit etc., and are then used to tap friends, relatives and neighbours on the back with wishes for health, happiness and prosperity. Masquerade games with groups of masked men or kukeri are organized in many parts of Bulgaria for banishing evil.
There are 137,000 Bulgarians who celebrate their name day today – all people called Vassil, Vassilka, Vassilena, Vesselin, Vesselina, Vessela.
On June 26, people around the world are encouraged to take an active stance against the spread of drug addiction. On the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, municipal institutions in Sofia, with the..
Wednesday will be mostly sunny, with clouds developing over the western half of the country in the afternoon. There will be brief showers, thunderstorms and a chance of hail. The phenomena will be intense in mountainous areas. Maximum temperatures will..
Caretaker Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov is attending the ministerial conference of the Salzburg Forum countries in Vienna, the Ministry of Interior's press center reported. The conference is held within the framework of the Austrian..
On Tuesday it will be mostly sunny before noon, with light to moderate east-northeasterly winds in the afternoon. Maximum temperatures will be between..
"We are gradually starting to equip the trains with electronic devices for selling tickets," BDZ Passenger Transport manager Ventsislav Slavkov said,..
2023 was another year in which high-level corruption in Bulgaria remained under the radar, as the criminal proceedings conducted did not reflect the true..
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