May 21 – St. Constantine and Helena

On May 21 the orthodox church celebrates the day of emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. Their names are related to one of the crucial moments in Christian religion – during their ruling, and with their help, the Milan edict (313) was issued, through which Christianity was adopted as the official religion of Byzantium. In honour of this event, the emperor and his mother were canonized as saints. On the day of St. Constantine and Helena, one of the most interesting rituals in Bulgarian lands is performed – fire dancing. Fire dancing is related to the faith in the magical power of fire. In the daytime, the fire-dancers visit the home of the chief fire-dancer and perform ritual investment of the icons of the saints, and at night they perform their fire dance barefooted on the glowing embers, holding the holy icons in their hands. They believe that through this magic dance they can gain the ability to predict the future.