A most special place to mark the great feast of the Assumption of Mary on 15 August in Bulgaria is the Island of St. Anastasia. The island is located in the Bay of Bourgas at 6.5 km (4 sea miles) from the city between Cape Tchoukalya and Cape Atiya.

The island is the only inhabited island off the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea and has its own life, rituals and traditions. And while for the Port of Bourgas St. Nicholas Feast on 6 Dec. is the most venerated feast, for St. Anastasia’s people the special day is the Feast of Assumption.

If you go for a visitto the island using the shuttle boat operated during the summer season you will be welcomed there with bread and salt, a symbol of hospitality in this country. There are however special rituals performed during Assumption Feast.
The governor of St. Anastasia Pavlin Dimitrov said more about how the island’s day Assumption of Mary will proceed:“We have prepared a special program, and it begins with a welcome of the guests that arrive from the mainland. There is a special treat for them: mussels roasted on a tin plate in natural sauce. Mussels come from the natural mussel plantation around the island and the recipe is next to perfect. It is enough to light the fire and arrange them on the tin plate. There will be tap beer as well, and a band to play sea songs on the beach. Around noon we will play a big chain island dance with the Strandzha Folk Group. The island is in fact part of the Strandzha Mountain on the mainland and thus part of the region’s folklore and culture. An Orthodox Christian priest is going to arrive with the boat at noon for an Assumption of Mary water-blessing for health. Throughout the day, workshops will be open and will invite kids to stop by and make sea souvenirs that they can take with them as mementos. Part of the program is also a reading of poetry created on the Island. In the afternoon, a special pirate experience is due organized with the cooperation of the State Puppet Theater company in Bourgas. At night, for all lovers of good music and a cheerful mood, Militsa Gladnishka & Mihail Yosifov Sextet will virtually throw the island into jazz!”

Pavlin Dimitrov also said that the season is quite busy for the island of St. Anastasia, as the shuttle boat brings tourists three times a day. There are many foreign visitors, Bulgarians and Bulgarian nationals who live abroad and come over to visit for holidays. The cultural program is quite tight, and despite the rainy July concerts attracted numerous audiences. There are guests who spend the night on the island and St. Anastasia is becoming a preferred destination. Mr Dimitrov expects many warm days in August and September and a splendid Indian Summer in October which would hopefully bring many new guests to the lovely island off the coast of Bourgas.

Edited and translated by Daniela Konstantinova