Traditions & NameDays

As early as 7000 years B.C., 3000 years before the Egyptians, traders from this land, now known as Bulgaria, had crossed up and down the Mediterranean. This long and winding history gave a source of not only great national pride but also an inspiration for a new national spirit. Much has perished through all these millennia, but even more has remained - a rich spiritual world which will shower you with the colours, rhythms and melodious songs of living Bulgarian folklore, the unfading beauty of Bulgarian arts and crafts, the gaiety and vivacity of Bulgarian festivals and customs, the piquant taste of Bulgarian cuisine and the delicate fragrance of Bulgarian wines.

Plovdiv region and the city, villages and towns therein, with its remnants of the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman civilizations, count among their wealth an unusually diverse culture, parts of which have remained unchanged for centuries. In this section of Plovdiv Guide, we offer you a trip through the land which has been so richly endowed by God with elegant beauty and invite you to discover its traditions, customs and rituals.
ATANASOVDEN (St. Athanasius Day) - January 18
Name day of everyone named Atanas, Atanaska, Nasso, Nacho, Tinka, Nasya, Totka.Ritual table: chicken, rite bread with honey, pork.January 18 the Orthodox Church honors St. Atanasius The G...
PETLYOVDEN (Rooster’s Day) - January 20
Name day of everyone named Efthimios (Evtim, Euthim), (the name derives from the Sanskrit word "en", which designates infinity, the hidden god. Some people also interpret the name with the m...
Snt Evtimii
Snt Evtimii...
ST. AGNES and ST. MAXIMUS, the Confessor - January 21
Name day of everyone named Agnesa, Maxim.St. Agnes was a Roman girl who was only thirteen years old when she suffered martyrdom for her Faith. Agnes had made a promise, a promise to God never to s...
ST. TIMOTHY the Apostle - January 22
Name day of everyine names Timotey (quite a rare name in Bulgaria).The Holy Apostle Timothy was from the Lycaonian city of Lystra in Asia Minor. St. Timothy was converted to Christ in the year 52 by t...
ST. XENI - January 24
Name day of everyone named Axenia, Oxana, Avksenti.  ...
ST. GREGORY the Theologian - January 25
Name day of everyone named Grigor, Grigorina, Grisha (which means "being on the alert, staying awake").The son of a bishop, for whom he was named, St. Gregory was born in Arianzos i...
TRIPHON ZAREZAN (The Feast Day of St. Triphon the Martyr) - February 1
Name day of everyone named Trifon, Trifonka, Lozan.Ritual table: boiled chicken, baked flat sausages, omelette, freshly baked bread, cheese cake.On February 1 the Orthodox Church celebrates and honors...
MEETING OF THE LORD - February 2
That day the Church commemorates an important event in the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Forty days after His birth, the God-Infant was taken to the Jerusalem Temple, the center of the nation...
WOLF DAYS - February 2-3
Name day of everyone names Simeon, Simeonka, Simona, Moncho (February 3rd).The two days after the St. Triphon’s Day, the Wolf Days,  are of a special nature – the traditional belief...