Enyovden (Enyo’s Day) is celebrated in Bulgaria on 24 June . On this day people usually collect flowers before sunrise, knead ritual bread, sing songs, etc. The greatest enthusiasts organize festivals in which people bathe in springs and rivers. Why do water and herbs have healing powers on this day? Stay with us in the next twenty minutes or so to hear something curious on the matter.
According to scholars, the plant species in Bulgaria amount to over 3000. Many of them are used for their healing properties by pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies. In reality, in ancient times the healing properties of herbs were familiar to people. Herbs are the underlying core of natural medicine and a number of magic practices. In late June, the time of the Summer Solstice, almost all healing plants are ready to be gathered. According to Bulgarian folk wisdom, the best time to pick them up is Enyovden. Depending on the region, the celebration bears different names. It has got ancient pagan roots similar to other holidays popular with eastern Slavs.
According to the church calendar, on 24 June people mark the birth of St. John the Baptist. St. John the Forerunner, as he is also known, was the first to start baptizing people in the holy waters of the Jordan River. To the present, the three-time immersion in water has been an intrinsic part of baptism. On Enyovden, people perform sacred rituals with water, too. Folk wisdom has it that everyone should bathe in water for good health. People believe that the water on Enyovden can heal known and unknown diseases. One can also roll in the dewy grass before sunrise to invoke good health. All folklore regions in Bulgaria believe that on that day the Sun plays and shimmers at sunrise. Those who can see the shimmering will be healthy all year round. It is also believed that on 24 June St. Enyo puts on his winter coat and sets out on a journey to bring winter back.
Many rituals on Enyovden are related to the Sun Cult. By tradition, young maids and brides welcome the sunrise and guess what the year will be like by reading their own shadows. People also make ritual fires on higher places around villages. In Stranja Mountain, fire-dancers sometimes perform dancing on smouldering embers. On the eve of Enyovden, people make the so-called new fire. The old fire in a village’s fireplaces is put out. The new fire is born out of a special ritual and is then carried to all the houses in the village.
Enyovden is a peculiar border in the year’s natural cycles. The people in Southwest Bulgaria say that on that day the heavens open. The Bulgarians from the Thracian region believe that on Enyovden the sea stops moving, and people bathe in it to invoke good health. The holiday is special to treasure-hunters, too. According to legends, on the eve of Enyovden a flame appears above a buried treasure. Stars go down to the Earth and invest herbs and grass with enchanting power. Therefore, on the eve of Enyovden, people collect 77 and a half herbs. According to folk wisdom, they do so because there are 77 known diseases. The half is picked with closed eyes and is to cure the only unknown to humans ailment. During the entire ritual, women sing special songs. Afterwards they break a round piece of bread and eat it to invoke good heath and fertility.
English version: Vyara Popova
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