May 6th - St. George's Day

One of the most respected saints in Bulgaria is Saint George the Victor. The great Christian martyr St. George lived in the province of the near East called Capadokia under the rule of the Roman emperor Diocletian (284-305). When very young he became a soldier to discharge his military duties. At the age of 20 he became a tribune. Because of his complete dedication to the Christian faith he was imprisoned and decapitated. According to the story of his life a dragon had appeared near the place where he died and devastated it. The saint killed the monster with his spear. Since then he has been one of the most famous soldiers of the Christian faith and he has been chosen to be the Defender of Bulgarian army.
For the Bulgarians St. George's day is one of the most solemn holidays which mark the beginning of the summer. It is also the holiday of the Bulgarian army and of the agriculturists. St. George is sung with great affection and reverence in our songs as a "handsome" and "courageous" hero.St. George is also patron of farmers. On the day preceding the day of St. George the peasants used to plant a beech bough, into leaf, in the middle of their fields, in order to make the wheat grow high and, in general, have rich crops. At the door of each house, beech twigs, blossoming hawthorn, lilac or other bushes in flower were fixed. On St. George's Day the housewives stuck green branches to the fountains and the wells and dropped stalks of nettle in the water cauldrons - for good health. St. George's Day is also the festival of cattle breeders. Traditionally, on this day shepherds would take a lamb, with a wreath on its little horns, to the churchyard. The priest would say a solemn prayer for the health of both humans and animals, and for a rich harvest. It was a custom for each household to have roasted lamb or some other lamb dish on its St. George's Day table. St. George’s Day is also the name day of everyone called George.