On January 18, the Orthodox Church revers the memory of St. Athanasius the Great. According to popular belief, St. Athanasius is a patron of winter storms. On horseback, donned in a silk shirt, goes St. Athanasius into the forest and yells, “Go away, yo, winter, come, thee, summer!” And according to the Bulgarian popular belief, he does that each year on January 18, and that is why it is known as the Winter Atanasovden or Amidst Winter in the popular calendar.
It is said that from January 18 the day begins to grow by one millet seed. In some regions of the country people used to believe that plague was born on this day. To protect themselves from the deadly disease, people used to sacrifice a black hen to prepare a ritual meal.
Atanas, Atanaska, Nasko, Tina, Tinka, Tanyu, Taska celebrate their name day today.
On January 17, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Anthony the Great – a zealous advocate of Christianity. At an advanced age, he took part in the Church's struggle against the Arian heresy. Anthony got into an open dispute with the..
His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Western and Central Europe and BNR Director General Milen Mitev signed a Memorandum of Cooperation at the headquarters of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Diocese of Western and Central Europe in the German capital,..
The Aprilov National High School in the beautiful Bulgarian town of Gabrovo nestled in the foot of the Balkan Range celebrates its 190th anniversary in 2025. Following in the traditions of the Gabrovo Mutual School – the first secular school in..
Atanasovden, also known as Midwinter in our folk calendar, is a holiday on which the Orthodox Church and our folklore pay tribute to St. Athanasius the..
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