Name day of everyone named Spas, Spaska.































































SPASSOVDEN (always on Thursday, 40 Days after Easter  -  “Ascension Day”  or “Ascension of the Lord”):  The great feast called the Spassovden or Ascension Day is connected to the eternal human wish for health and joy. The feast is a non-fixed one, and it is celebrated 40 days after Easter, always on Thursday.































































According to the popular belief, in the period from Easter up to Ascension Day all dead are on the Earth among us, while on the very Ascension Day it is Christ himself who comes down to the Earth and takes them all to the heavens (ascends them) by a whip in his hand….































































The day before the feast is known as the Nymphs’ Wednesday. People believe that mythic creatures, the nymphs, are ready to go on a trip, therefore women do not work while the young people go to the woods “to pick up burning bush” (the word for the flower, known in Latin as Dictamnus albus, is considered to be a derivative from the word “nymph” in BG). According to the legend, the burning bush is the flower of the nymphs; therefore its name has the same base. Its blossoms are red and sweet scented. Sick and crippled go to have a sleep overnight where the burning bush grows, in order to get cured.































 































Spassovden is also considered to be the day of the bakers and pastry-producers in Bulgaria – that is why they produce a large amount of bread, sweets and pastry and very often send them over as a gift to the poor ones and the orphans….