Today, again, was a holiday. This one didn’t affect work-I finally caught up on a few emails-but I did receive a pair of bread rolls from Tsetska and Elsa. Elsa explained that the bread was for Mladentsi Day. Mladentsi Day, aka Feast of the Forty Martyrs is a holy day celebrated more frequently in eastern orthodox churches than in the west. The holiday recognizes 40 Christians that froze to death for their faith on an Armenian pond in 320AD.
In Bulgaria, the holiday is closely connected with a variety of other folk beliefs. The 40 small loaves are baked to represent infants with smallpox and are given to children to protect them from catching the disease. The day also plays a role in traditional pre-nuptial rituals for young girls of marrying age. I found this information by researching online, the students in the advanced English class didn't know. This website had some other interesting traditions associated with Mladentsi Day.
I also received bread for Mladentsi Day on 22 March. This is day it was celebrated according to the old calendar. 1968, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, shifting the dates for holy days by about two weeks. The Gregorian calendar is more common in the west. There is still debate between ‘old’ and ‘new’ calendarists in Bulgaria. Many of the older generation grew up with the old calendar, and celebrate some holidays on the old day and the new day-especially if it’s a fun holiday like wine drinking and singing for Trifon Zarezan Day (which was celebrated on 1 February and 14 February. The previous date of Mladentsi Day also connected it more closely with the vernal equinox, the first day of spring.
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