Bulgaria Celebrates the Day of St.George the Victorious and Army Day

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.

The Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte served a blessing of the Bulgarian military flags and the flags and banners of the sacred places of the Bulgarian Army in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in the capital city of Sofia at 9:00 a.m.

The Day of Valour was marked with the traditional military parade in Sofia, in which more than 1,200 military servicemen marched through the city centre. Aircraft and helicopters of the Bulgarian Air Force performed a flypast.

The parade was opened by a Mi-17 helicopter, which flew over Knyaz Alexander I Square, carrying the national flag and escorted by two Cougar helicopters.

“On this bright Christian feast, St. George’s Day, as part of a great Bulgarian tradition, our nation shows gratitude to its army,” Bulgaria’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Roumen Radev, said in his address dedicated to the Day of Valour and the Bulgarian Army. “Today, we bow our heads in veneration for the heroism of the warriors who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of the country. We commemorate the military who perished in missions beyond our borders and express respect to the veterans and military who protect the Motherland with professionalism and self-denial, ” he said.

“Thank you that despite the challenges of the time, you continue to defend the cause of Bulgaria with high professionalism, Radev went on to say.

According to him, 2016 was a turning point in the attitude towards our armed forces because the Parliament passed bills for the modernization and rearmament of the army. He pointed out that in the pursuit of these commitments, there was a need for high military expertise and transparency in the choice of new equipment.

The parade started at 10:00 a.m. and was broadcast live on BNT.

More than 30 cameras of the public broadcaster, the Bulgarian National Television, were placed in key locations, on the ground, in the air and even in the water, to cover the event.

Чуйте последните новини, където и да сте!
Последвайте ни във Facebook и Instagram
Следете и канала на БНТ в YouTube
Вече може да ни гледате и в TikTok
Намерете ни в Google News