Planning to visit Bulgaria in 2019? Get the most out of your experience! Learn here about the most important holidays in Bulgaria - fast and easy with BulgarianPod101!
| January 6, 2019 | Epiphany |
| January 7, 2019 | Ivan’s Day - Ivanovden |
| February 14, 2019 | Saint Trifon the Pruner Day |
| March 1, 2019 | Grandma March Day |
| March 3, 2019 | Liberation Day |
| March 8, 2019 | Women’s Day |
| March 16, 2019 | Saint Theodore’s Day |
| April 20, 2019 | St. Lazar’s Day |
| April 21, 2019 | Palm Sunday |
| April 28, 2019 | Orthodox Easter |
| May 6, 2019 | St. George’s Day |
| May 24, 2019 | Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Literature Day |
| June 1, 2019 | International Children’s Day |
| June 24, 2019 | Enyovden (Midsummer day) |
| July 20, 2019 | St. Elijah’s Day |
| August 15, 2019 | Dormition of the Mother of God |
| September 6, 2019 | Unification Day |
| September 15, 2019 | First Day of School |
| September 22, 2019 | Independence Day |
| October 19, 2019 | St. John of Rila’s Day |
| November 1, 2019 | Revival Leaders’ Day |
| December 8, 2019 | Students’ Day |
How well do you know holidays in Bulgaria?
In this article, you learn all about the top Bulgaria holidays and the traditions and history behind them. Check the must-know Bulgarian vocabulary for popular holidays in Bulgaria too!
That way, you can easily talk about Bulgarian holidays while improving your vocabulary and overall speaking skills. You will pick up key vocab, phrases, and cultural insights you won’t find in a textbook.
Perfect for any student interested in learning more about Bulgarian culture. We will teach you the what, why, when and how of Bulgaria holidays.
According to the Orthodox Church, on this day Jesus Christ was baptized (e krasten), in the Jordan river. Thus the holiday is also called the Baptism of the Lord. The name Bogoyavlenie is formed from two words, bogo-, meaning “God’s” and yavlenie, a word meaning “appearance” or “manifestation.”
A popular custom on Epiphany is to cast a cross into the ice-cold river water. Usually men jump in to take it (or skachat da go ulovyat). The one who finds it is considered to be blessed with luck (blagosloven s kasmet).
Ivan’s Day or Ivanovden is the day after the Epiphany and it’s the name-day for Ivan and Ivanka, and the feast of Sveti Yoan Krastitel, Saint John the Baptist.
Trifon Zarezan is also called Vine-Growers’ Day. It’s an unofficial or folk holiday celebrated in honor of Saint Trifon. Saint Trifon himself was a healer and became a saint martyr. He came from a region in Asia Minor, considered to be the land where vines and wine (vinoto), originated.
Usually (obiknoveno) on this day a boiled chicken is prepared and bread is kneaded—generally a flat loaf. The vine growers take some of the meat and bread, as well as a vessel of wine, and go to the vines, where they perform (izvarshvat), the vine-pruning ritual. After cutting three sticks they cross themselves (or se prekrastvat), and water, (polivat), the vines with the wine.
Baba Marta, or “Granny March,” is a feast associated with the coming of spring and the mythical figure of Baba Marta. This holiday is associated with the beginning, or nachaloto, of a new cycle in nature and with wishes for health and fertility. The most typical custom for this day is the martenitsa—tying or hanging, or in Bulgarian da se zavarzva ili zakachva, decorations made of white and red yarn, braided or twisted in different forms. It’s thought that the two colors symbolize different things. The red is blood or life, and the white is purity and happiness.
Liberation Day or Den na Osvobozhdenieto na Balgariya ot tursko robstvo means “The Day of Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman Rule.” March 3 was declared a national holiday for the Republic of Bulgaria in 1990 because it was on this date in 1878 that the so-called Treaty of San Stefano was “signed,” or podpisan. It put an end to the Russian-Turkish war of that period, and made Bulgaria a free country after five centuries of Ottoman domination. Festive concerts in different places are held each year. At nightfall, fireworks are set off in the National Assembly square.
International Women’s Day is celebrated as a day when men show their gratitude, respect (uvazhenie), and attention to women. Therefore it’s often considered to “overlap” with (or se pripokriva s), Mother’s Day. Some people think that this is the day to place an emphasis on the problems and rights of women and topics that are of interest to them.
In Bulgaria, women receive flowers (poluchavat tsvetya), from men on this day—for instance, from their colleagues or from their husbands and children. There are no limitations (nyama ogranicheniya), to whom one can give flowers to—it may be female colleagues, friends, mothers, or wives. On Women’s Day every town in Bulgaria is showered with flowers and the flower shops are really busy (zaeti).
Saint Theodore’s Day (also known as Todorovden), is considered a “folk holiday” in Bulgaria. This holiday is both a time to celebrate new wives and their place in their husbands’ family, and a time for men to enjoy horse races. One common event on this day for women is to make bread in the shape of a horseshoe, which is then examined by their mother-in-law; this activity is meant to be a way to bring wives and their mother-in-laws closer together. Men on this day usually choose to participate in horse races and other horse-related celebratory events.
Lazarus Saturday, like Tsvetnitsa, which is celebrated the next day on Sunday, is a movable holiday which is exactly eight days before Easter, the Saturday when the Passion Week starts. According to folk tradition, the holiday is also called Lazaritsa or “Lazar’s Saturday.” Maiden’s customs are “carried out,” or se izvarshvat, on this day.
Early in the “morning,” or in Bulgarian rano sutrinta, on Lazarus Saturday, girls dresse up (premeneni), in national costumes and wear wreaths and flowers in their hair, go out in groups (na grupi) around the houses.
In Bulgaria, in line with the Christian tradition, people celebrate the day Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem. This day is also the name-day of all people named after flowers, trees and plants. It is called Tsvetnitsa, or Palm Sunday, and is celebrated on the Sunday before Easter.
Tradition in Bulgaria requires the celebration of Palm Sunday on the Sunday before the Passion Week. The Bible says that exactly “one week,” or in Bulgarian tochno edna sedmitsa, before the Resurrection, on the Sunday Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, a crowd of believers welcomed him and threw “palm springs,” or palmovi klonki, at his feet.
April 28 marks Easter Sunday in 2019. Bulgarians have many Easter traditions, preceded by forty days of Lent fasting and the celebration of the Holy Week. Holy Week celebrations include dying eggs (usually red to symbolize Christ’s blood) to be either buried or kept in the home, carrying pussy-willow branches to be blessed by priests on Palm Sunday, and a candlelit church vigil the night before. On Easter Sunday, Bulgarians celebrate with a large feast of lamb, kozunak or “Easter Loaf,” and a red egg.
“St. George’s Day”—or Gergyovden as it’s better known in Bulgaria—is also a Day of Bravery and the Bulgarian Army. On this day, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates (chestva), the Day of St. George the Victorious, or Sveti Georgi Pobedonosets. Gergyovden is popular as a day-name as it’s solemnly celebrated by the Bulgarian army and all military men and women. In January 1880, Prince Alexander Battenberg decreed the celebration of the holiday. Every year the President of the Republic of Bulgaria accepts the salute of a military parade (parad). In front of the “Unknown Soldier Monument” or Pametnika na neznayniya voin, a blessing of water and the sprinkling of the army flags and other sacred flags takes place.
May 24 is the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture, as well as the day celebrating the “creation” or sazdavane of the so-called glagolitsa, which is a type of writing system and was actually the first Slavic alphabet.
The anthem of this holiday is the song “March Ahead, Oh, Revived People” which is performed every year at the celebrations. The festivities include celebratory programs with musical performances of choral songs and folk dances. Usually, schools and universities have festive decorations or ukrasa of wreaths and flowers as well as prolific cultural programs.
The holiday originated from the World Conference on the Well-being of Children held in Geneva in 1925. Children’s Day is important because it reminds adults (vazrastnite), about the necessity for special protection (spetsialna zashtita), of children’s rights.
Children’s Day is celebrated with plays (8), and events with free admission for children, fairs and festivals, concerts (kontserti), shows, and social activities. There are a lot of treats, balloons, and smiles (usmivki), for the children.
June 24 is also the summer solstice. Many of the “rituals,” or in Bulgarian obredite, carried out on this day are related to the cult of the sun. Enyovden is a feast of herbs and the belief is that healing herbs are the most potent on this day. They are usually “collected,” or berat, before sunrise.
The people’s beliefs in the “power,” or silata, of the sun “make,” or karat, them watch the sunrise on Enyovden. This is also the start of the “transition,” or prehoda, to the winter period, when the days start to become shorter.
St. Elijah’s Day is celebrated on July 20 each year, and serves as a day to remember and honor the saint Elijah. He is known for being one of the two great prophets in the Bible, and more specifically for his work in seeking to convert pagans to worship God. On this day, bread is baked and sacrifices are made to appease St. Elijah for the sake of good health and favorable weather for the harvest.
The Dormition of the Mother of God is celebrated with a feast on August 15 each year, preceded by a two-week fast. This holiday is held in remembrance of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is said according to some writings to have died eleven years after Jesus’s ascension. After this, she’s said to have had a bodily ressurection, taken up into heaven. The celebration commemorates this.
The unification of Bulgaria was an act necessary for the integrity of the Bulgarian state. The 1878 Treaty of Berlin enacted the separation (razdelenie), of Bulgaria and the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. In doing this, the treaty actually tore (razkasva) the national integrity of the Bulgarian people. The Bulgarians didn’t accept this separation and started acting to annex Eastern Rumelia, which, in accordance with the treaty, was an autonomous province under the authority of the Ottoman Empire.
In Sofia, in front of the ossuary mausoleum of Prince Alexander I Battenberg on Vasil Levski Boulevard, speeches are delivered on the occasion of (or in Bulgarian no sluchay na), the holiday. As with the celebration of the Liberation, on this day a solemn changing of the sentry of honor in front of the President takes place.
The First Day of School in Bulgaria, on September 15, really does call for celebration—no actual classes take place on this day! Instead, students and teachers alike participate in fun events and games, in order to help everyone get acquainted with each other and get pepped for the real beginning of school. Students also gift their teachers with flowers on this day, and it’s not unusual for the rest of the town or city to get involved with the celebration.
The liberation of Bulgaria and the unification of Bulgaria are complemented by a third event, which ultimately (v krayna smetka), created Bulgaria’s real autonomy. This is the proclamation of the independence of Bulgaria, which took place on September 22, 1908. On this date, which is observed according to the old style, the Bulgarians celebrate their Independence Day.
The Independence of Bulgaria was proclaimed with the Manifesto in the St. 40 Martyrs Church in the medieval capital of Veliko Tarnovo. For this reason, the celebration of the Independence of Bulgaria has solemnly taken place in Veliko Tarnovo to this day, as well as in other, bigger cities.
St. John of Rila is a highly honored historical figure in Bulgaria. He’s known for being a hermit, though he had several followers in his time and it’s said that even the animals felt comfortable around him. He also performed miracles and had great wisdom, which drew several people to seek him out in his secluded living place in the mountains (despite his desire to be alone and pray). St. John also founded the Rila Monastery. He’s celebrated each year on two dates: August 18 and October 19.
Den na narodnite buditeli is a public holiday celebrated annually with torchlight processions. The holiday emerged (vaznikva), as a way of commemorating the work of people who helped in the national liberation movement of the country. The role (rolyata), of such people in the revival (vazrazhdane), and promotion of the Bulgarian spirit through hard historic events is very important.
In Bulgaria, Students’ Day is celebrated on December 8 each year; it was created in 1903 in order to celebrate Sofia University’s fifteenth anniversary. However, from 1944 to 1962, the government replaced Students’ Day with International Students’ Day on November 17. In 1962, Prime Minister Todor Zhivkov decided to reinstate the Bulgarian Students’ Day. On this day, students are not required to attend school and they can expect several fun events in lieu of class attendance.
You may ask why it is advantageous to know Bulgarian holidays. There are a number of good reasons!
If you’re keen to learn Bulgarian on your own, there are a number of ways to do this. Why not choose holidays as a theme? You can start by learning about the Bulgarian culture, so find a video or TV program about holidays in Bulgaria. Better still - find a video or program about holidays in Bulgarian, and watch it a few times! That way your ear will get used to the spoken language. You could also watch Bulgarian movies without subtitles, as this too will train your ear to what correct Bulgarian sounds like.
If you’re more advanced in Bulgarian, you can practice your writing skills by writing a letter to your Bulgarian friend about the holidays video. Or write a short review of the video, and post it on social media! Imagine how impressed your friends will be!
Practice your Bulgarian pronunciation, and record yourself talking about your holiday in Bulgaria. Pronouncing words correctly in any language is very important, or you may find yourself saying things you don’t mean!
If you’re an absolute beginner, it would be best to start with a book, a CD series, free PDF cheat sheets and preferably your Bulgarian friend who can help you. Or, you can start with BulgarianPod101, for free!
Holidays in Bulgaria can also be the perfect opportunity to practice your Bulgarian! For the best experience, make sure to master at least Level 1 of your Bulgarian lessons here on BulgarianPod101 before you go on holiday to Bulgaria. Then don’t be shy! Use it with every native speaker you encounter in every situation. Practicing continuously to speak a language is one of the most important habits if you want to become fluent. Or, if you’re a new subscriber to BulgarianPod101 in a hurry to get to Bulgaria, study Absolute Beginner Bulgarian for Every Day to help you get by as a traveller - you will be surprised how far a little Bulgarian can go!
BulgarianPod101 is uniquely geared to help you master relevant, everyday vocabulary and phrases, pronounced correctly and in the right context - this will set you on the right track. Our courses are perfectly designed to help you in fun ways!
But do have a holiday first. Ideally you will enjoy a different culture with a visit, and enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine. Don’t wait till 2020 to learn Bulgarian through BulgarianPod101 though - it will open a whole new world for you!
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