Bulgaria celebrates the Day of St. George the Victorious and Armed Forces Day (video)

On 6th of May, Bulgaria celebrates the Day of Saint George the Victorious.

The public holiday is also known as Gergyovden and is one of the most celebrated name-days in the country.

St. George is the patron saint of shepherds and roasting a whole lamb is part of the tradition on this day.

6th of May is also the Day of Valour and the Bulgarian Army. It was made an official holiday with a decree of Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria on 9th of January 1880. During the Communist regime the holiday was cancelled, but it was reinstated in 1993.

As part of the tradition, the Day of Valour was marked with the traditional military parade in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia and a flypast of helicopters and aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force.

Bulgaria’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian armed forces, Rumen Radev, inspected the guard of honour.

The blessing of the Bulgarian military flags and the flags and banners of the sacred places of the Bulgarian Army was held in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. Bishop Gerasim of Melnik gave the blessing.

For the first time, Italians from the NATO Multinational Battle Group took part in the parade with their combat vehicles. The Head of State reminded that the largest war in Europe in modern times has found us with an army subject to illiterate experiments over the years.

Images by Dessislava Kulelieva, BNT and by BTA