Great Lent

On March 14, 2021, Bulgarians mark Sirzi Zagovezni - the day of forgiveness. The date is different every year. The feast always falls on Sundays, seven weeks before Easter.

People in Bulgaria keep the tradition to ask forgiveness to the older family members. The words that are used are "Forgive me" and the answer is "You are forgiven".

We celebrate one of the greatest Christian feast - the Resurrection of Christ. In the Christian religion of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated on the third day after being crucified and buried. The empty tomb was seen by the women who were visiting the tomb. Then Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the apostles.

Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria and around the world mark on April 22 Holy Monday - the first day of the most important week in the church calendar, the Holy Week leading to Easter.

Bulgarians mark on Saturday the holiday known as Todorovden (the day of Todor or Theodore), also called the Horse Easter.

According to the Orthodox tradition, Todorovden is marked every year on the first Saturday of the Great Lent (the Easter Fast).

Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria and around the world mark on April 2 Holy Monday - the first day of the most important week in the church calendar, the Holy Week leading to Easter.

Today, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Christian holiday of Tsvetnitsa(Flower's Day). It is traditionally always a week before Easter and is one of the important spring holidays. It is dedicated to the solemn reception of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem with olive and laurel twigs.
 

Bulgarians mark on Saturday the holiday known as Todorovden (the day of Todor or Theodore), also called the Horse Easter.

According to the Orthodox tradition, Todorovden is marked every year on the first Saturday of the Great Lent (the Easter Fast).

In the Orthodox Christian Church, Great Lent and Holy Week are two separate things. Officially, Great Lent ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday, and Holy Week begins the day after that. Each day during Holy Week has a special meaning, and understanding what each day represents can help making attending all those church services a lot more meaningful!

Bulgarians observe Sunday a self-styled traditional 'Forgiveness Day' on which everyone asks everyone to forgive his or her misdeeds over the passed year.

The rite is centered in families and communities, in which people ask their elders, including parents and superiors to absolve whatever they have done wrong, even if they do not know it or did not intend it.

The first Sunday of Great Lent was declared a feast of Orthodoxy in 843 to celebrate the triumph of the orthodox view over iconoclasm, the heresy that icons should not be venerated, and over all heresies.

Photo credit (c): ANGELO BREZOIANU / AGERPRES FILES