A special sunrise is coming and thousands of people will go to the beach to welcome the first morning of July, listening to the unforgettable song "July Morning" by Uriah Heap

"Let's not forget that Uriah Heep's song was released back in 1971. It managed to cross the Iron Curtain and reach Bulgaria, becoming a favorite song for part of the population. As a symbol of freedom people started gathering on the beach to welcome the first sunrise of July,” Anatoli Angelov from Varna, who has participated in many July Morning events by the sea, says.

"I have welcomed many sunrises on the beach. I performed at some of the events and was just a guest to others. It is a great feeling of freedom. The very idea of ​​celebrating July Morning is a rejection of the urban environment. It is about going out in nature and seeing the beginning of summer. It gives you a feeling of freedom."

The city of Varna is linked to the beginning of the Bulgarian tradition of welcoming July Morning. Everything started on the beach of Varna almost 40 years ago. Initially events were timid, but over time the tradition grew stronger and spread along the entire Bulgarian Black Sea coast, as well as everywhere across the country. For example, this year July Morning will also be celebrated in the Danubian town of Tutrakan and in Pernik.

July Morning is best welcomed on the beach, Anatoli Angelov says. He has participated in the organization of the celebration on Kamen Bryag – one of the popular places for welcoming the first rays of the July sun.

Old fans of the celebration say that July Morning no longer carries that initial spirit of freedom from the beginning. According to the new participants, the experience is worthwhile. July Morning as a symbolic holiday of freedom is the only one of its kind and is marked only in Bulgaria although many foreigners have started participating in the tradition in recent years.

English: Alexander Markov