On July 20, Orthodox Christians mark the day of St. Elijah. Bulgarians call this holiday Ilinden and in folklore traditions St. Elijah is seen as a saints who is master of hail, thunder, and lightning.
In folk tales the saint has a chariot of fire and as he rides in it he chases a dragon (“lamya”) that feeds on the wheat in the fields. Perhaps, this notion is connected with the miracle of his departure from the earthly world as it is said that St. Elijah was taken in a chariot of fire and brought alive to heaven.
A beautiful song from the repertoire of Daniel Spasov and Milen Ivanov tells about the supernatural powers of "Old Saint Elijah".
Editor: Albena Bezovska
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Today, Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The center of the festivities..
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..
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