St. Ignatius the God-bearer Feast

On December 20 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the day of St. Ignatius the God-bearer, disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. The tradition suggests that when St. Ignatius was a little boy, the Savior hugged him and said "Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven".The saint was called "God-Bearer", because he bore God in his heart and prayed unceasingly to Him. He also had this name because he was held in the arms of Christ. He was sentenced to death by Roman emperor Trajan (98-117) because of his faith in Jesus and was thrown to the wild beasts. According to traditional beliefs, the day of St. Ignatius marks the beginning of the New Year and the Christmas celebrations, and is called New Day in some parts of Bulgaria, as it is very important what man or woman first steps in the house - good or bad. Upon this personality depends the whole year ahead.