Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Athanasius the Great

Photo: BGNES-archive

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.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Peter Bogdan Bakshev, painted by Vasil Goranov

Presentation of the historical manuscript by Petar Bogdan at the Bulgarian Presidency

A reproduction of Petar Bogdan's manuscript "On the Antiquity of the Fatherland and on Bulgarian Affairs" - the first treatise on the history of Bulgaria, written almost a century before the famous "Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya" (Slav-Bulgarian..

published on 5/21/24 7:45 AM

Bulgarian State Delegation brings Bulgarian symbols of peace and spiritual unity to the Vatican 

Every year, on the eve of the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian alphabet, enlightenment, culture and Slavic literature - May 24 - a Bulgarian delegation led by the President of Parliament or the Head of State is received by the Pontiff of..

published on 5/21/24 6:15 AM
Sofia residents flock to read the royal manifesto decreeing the coup plotters' new rule.

Lessons from Bulgaria - How a military coup did not lead to "national revival"? 

Ninety years ago, on 19 May 1934, the Zveno political movement and the Military League staged a bloodless coup in Bulgaria. In the name of modernising the country, the so-called "national revival", they suspended the Tarnovo Constitution , banned the..

published on 5/19/24 7:05 AM