St. George’s Day is celebrated on May 6 and is one of the major spring holidays observed by Christians in Bulgaria. At the same time, St. George the Victorious is one of the most revered saints in Christianity. According to his hagiography, he was a young warrior who, in the name of his faith, refused to persecute and torture Christians. Not far from his grave, a dragon appeared that was ravaging the region, but the saint managed to defeat the monster. In iconography, he is always depicted on horseback and armed, with a slain dragon at his feet. In folk songs and legends, he is endowed with bravery and the power to slay the dragon and release the springs and the rain/dew. Evidently, St. George has also inherited the symbolism of certain pagan deities.
In popular belief, St. George’s Day is regarded as an equal and even more important holiday than Easter. Quite logically, it has been used to consolidate the nation-state. By decree of Prince Alexander Battenberg in 1880, it was declared “Day of Bravery” and a holiday of the Bulgarian army. Its transformations were also an integral part of the policy of the socialist regime—in 1947, it became “Shepherd’s Day” or “Livestock Breeder’s Day.” In 1993, it was reinstated by a decree of the Council of Ministers and is once again celebrated with a military parade, now received not by the king but by the president.
Although the traditional ritual complex gradually fell into disuse by the mid-20th century, today in many places in Bulgaria the tradition of organizing fairs, village-wide celebrations, and kurbans continues.
