Name day of everyone named Peter, Penka, Kamen, Pencho, Peyo, Pesho, Petrana, Petrana; also Assen, Assya, Apostol, Krum, Chavdar; also Pavel, Pavlin/a, Polya (although they rather celebrate on June 30th).
June 29th the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of the two apostles - Peter and Paul: Petrovden and Pavlovden. In Bulgaria, though, Pavlovden is more popular to be celebrated on the following day, June 30th.
This holiday is in midsummer. The people are working hard in the fields, “wheat is baked”. A legend says that St. Peter himself, on seeing how people harvest, took the sickle to help them. The St. Peter Fast ends with meat on the table – black chicken, slain on the threshold of the house for health and strength, for Peter means ‘stone’. On the table there are also juicy apples, consecrated at the morning service in church.
St.Peters Jewish name was actually Simon; the name Peter (meaning rock) was actually given to him by Jesus himself. Peter used to be Jesus favourite diciple - he used to call him the shepherd of the herd. When Jesus was led to be trialled, it was only Peter and one more diciple that followed him. In the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas, the frightened Peter denied knowing Jesus three consecutive times. When he heard the crock crowing, Peter remembered what the Savior had prophecied: Before the crock crows, you will deny me three times, and he went away weeping bitterly. After the ressurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter first, to resume his apostleship.
Peter continued preaching and performed numerous miracles and cured people in Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece and other places. Peter found his death crucified in the city of Rome, in the time of Caesar Nero. Later, on top of his grave a magnificent temple was erected - one of the largest in the whole Christian world.