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Bulgarian army drill in Sofia for May 6 parade

Bulgarian army units will stage a full-dress rehearsal ahead of the St George day celebrations on May 6, the Defence Ministry said in a media statement.

Military drills will be staged on May 3-4 outside the National Museum of History.

Additionally, helicopters from the Bulgarian Air Force will perform low-altitude sorties above Sofia, on May 3 from 9am to 10.30am and May 4-5 from 10am to 11.30am and then once again from 2pm to 3.30pm, the report said.

The full dress rehearsal will be held on May 4 at 9pm – at the cenotaph of the Unknown Soldier at Alexander Nevski Square and at 10pm at Kniaz Alexander I Square.

In Bulgaria, May 6 is celebrated as Gergyovden (St. George's Day), which is the Day of the Bulgarian Army. Usually, units of all military schools and branches are marched in front of hundreds of Sofia residents in an event that has become a tradition since 1993.

St George Day in Bulgaria is a major public holiday and, according to Orthodox Cristian beliefs, it is the day when Bulgarians honours the brave and courageous.

St George Day is also a day when all those named Georgi, Gergana and Ginka celebrate their name day with a traditional meal of lamb.

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The Feast of St. George

The Feast of St. George is one of the most popular holidays in Bulgaria marked with a diversity of rituals. It is dedicated to St George the Victory Bearer, a deeply venerated saint whom the Orthodox Church
commemorates on May 6. On the Feast of St. George everything in Bulgaria is colourful, golden and beautiful. In the Bulgarian folklore the saint is often addressed as “Dear, vivid Saint George”. The girls that folk songs hymn are all dressed up accordingly with gold bracelets and silver belts. The swings that everybody swings in on that day are golden too. And, if there is rain on 6 May, it is believed that every raindrop is worth a gold coin.

“Easter is a great day, and St. George’s Feast is even greater”, a proverb argues. Regardless of the deep veneration for the greatest Orthodox Christian holiday, Bulgarians have always celebrated the Feast of St. George with an impressive range of rituals and events. They go across all members of the traditional community. In its traditional format the feast actually opens a day earlier as teenage girls and boys go out to the fields or to the nearby woods. Dressed up for the occasion, they pick flowers and twigs. As the ritual proceeds, the girls sing songs about the forest and the flowers that have invited “young girls to pick flowers, make posies for their hair as well as wreaths.” In some ritual songs the central role is given to the rose, basil and other spring vegetation. They engage in animated dialogues that make clear that the apple has been early, while the rose is drinking wine from basil, its godfather.

After they returned from the forest with aprons full of herbs and flowers, the girls grouped in small groups and engaged in the preparation of the decoration for the feast. First they made the wreaths for the sacrificial lamb. They also prepared poses that were used to make predictions on the following day. The flowers were left under a rose for the night. Vegetation was used to decorate children’s bed covers. Women put twigs and herbs on the gates and in farming buildings. Boys attached twigs to the gates of their sweethearts. Before sunrise, young girls and brides adorned with flowers would bring water from community wells. It was known as flower water, because St. George’s Feast bunches were placed in it. It was also known as silent water, since, on their way back young women were forbidden to talk. Some of that water was used to make bread, and the rest – to bless people, livestock and houses. Water blessing was meant to bring health, fertility and a rich harvest. Early in the morning everybody went to bathe in springs and brooks. In traditional beliefs Vivid George holds the keys of the dew, the rain and of all rivers.

One considerable share in St. George Day rituals is given to stock breeding and to sheep breeding in particular based on the conviction that St. George is the guardian of herds. On this day shepherds ritually turned herds out to grass, and also ritually milk the sheep. It was the first day after Easter to taste milk, cheese and other dairy products. One key part of the St. George Feast rituals is making ritual loaves of bread. Bread was meant to be the bloodless sacrifice handed over to the saint. By tradition boiled lamb was prepared as votive offering. Before slaughtering, the sacrificial animal would be decorated with wreaths and was blessed. For the holiday the table was heavily laid with seasonal food. Older family members spent more time at it, while younger ones performed rituals linked to future weddings. The community would go out and gather in the central village square for a festive St. George chain dance. Girls swayed on golden swings to protect themselves from lustful dragons. Others swayed for the sake of sound health.