Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Archangel All Soul’s Day is the last day of the year in which believers honour their dead

Photo: BGNES

Every year, on the first Saturday before the Day of Archangel Michael (8 November), Orthodox Christians mark Archangel All Soul’s Day, the last of the three All Soul’s days set down by the Christian Orthodox church. According to the canon, they all fall on a Saturday, a day set aside for our dear departed. After a divine service, a memorial service takes place at which believers pray for the souls of their deceased family members and relatives.

On the Friday before All Soul’s Day, Christians go to the graves of their loved ones where they clean, incense and put flowers on them. Finally, they pour red wine over the grave and light a candle as a symbol of the immortality of the soul. The incense on its part symbolizes pure prayer, the flowers – the virtues of the deceased. On Archangel All Soul’s Day people sit down to a shared meal that has to include seven different dishes (including the ones the deceased loved most). Food is given away on Archangel All Soul’s Day with the words “God rest”. Old people say if you see a fly or a butterfly come near you on this day, it is the soul of the deceased. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Theodora Dimova

Talking about the communist past is more and more imperative if we want to protect our children

Bulgaria is still the only European country without a memorial to the victims of totalitarian regimes. Attention was once again called to this shameful fact, like a long untreated ulcer on the body of our society, on 1 June, when hundreds of people..

updated on 6/20/24 2:12 PM

Thracian treasures on display at J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles

Almost 100 exhibits from the Museum of History Iskra in Kazanlak will be put on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the US until the end of the year, Kazanlak municipality has announced on Facebook. The exposition in the US..

published on 6/20/24 11:04 AM
Dr Mustafa Haji, Grand Mufti of Bulgaria.

Eid is a time for compassion

People of the Muslim faith in Bulgaria are celebrating Eid. 'Kurban', an Arabic word meaning 'approaching', signifies the efforts of Muslims to approach the mercy of Allah through animal sacrifice," said Dr Mustafa Haji, Grand Mufti of Bulgaria, in his..

published on 6/16/24 7:35 AM