The Samokov village of Dragushinovo is the only one in Bulgaria where Todorovden is celebrated by preparing the so-called Rachnik. The local church is named after St Theodore Tiron, the Christian saint and warrior who is venerated on Todorovden.

Rachnik is a local speciality cooked only on this day in honour of the saint, the mayor of Dragushinovo, Georgi Hadzhiyski, told BNR. The church has an eventful history.

A long time ago, when the village was founded, the local people built a beautiful temple. Soon after, the temple was washed away by the raging waters of the Iskar River.

The villagers built a new church. In order to preserve it, they decided to serve a meal of sacrificial meat, called kurban, as an offering to the saint on the day of the temple festival. But the feast day fell during the Easter fast, when Christians could not eat meat. So the bishop of the Samokov diocese, Deli Matej, advised them to make a kurban out of crayfish (in Bulgarian "ratsi" - ed.), which were not considered animals because they had no red blood in them.

This tradition has been maintained for more than 150 years. Every house in Dragushinovo prepares a Rachnik on Todorovden. The dish is made of crayfish, rice, lots of spices and oil. It is then baked.

However, the crayfish in the river are almost extinct and this year the rachnik will be made with shrimps.