Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

We celebrate the Saints Constantine and Helena

Photo: BGNES

Roman emperor Constantine the Great (AD 306 to 337) introduced the Christian religion as official in the Byzantine Empire. His mother, Helena, discovered the cross on which the Savior was crucified and built several monasteries in the Holy Land. The discovery of the Cross is considered the most important event in the history of Christendom, and Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena were canonized as saints

In Bulgarian folk customs, the feast intertwines the traditions of Christianity with pagan traditions of dancing on live coals - the Nestinari dance.  It is preserved to this day in some areas, in its original form. In many places it is also performed as a show for tourists.

Preparations begin a few days before the holiday. Donations are collected for a common kurban soup, as well as for cleaning and maintaining the springs and wells in the village. A large pile of firewood is prepared in the village square. It is lit in the evening of the feast and, as everyone gathers around the huge fire, musicians begin to play ritual melodies. When the fire dies down, the embers are scattered in a circle. Horo chain dances are danced around it, with the icons of St. Constantine and St. Helena at the head. 


Into the circle of glowing embers enter the barefoot dancing Nestinari, who are most often women. It is believed that they fall into a trance state in which they can utter words of prophecy. Their ritual dance lasts for several minutes. 
 After the games of the Nestinari, everyone gathers at the communal table with the prepared kurban.

Read also:
Photos: BGNES,BTA


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

Priest Lyubomir Bratoev

Priest Lyubomir Bratoev in Berlin: The first liturgies in Bulgarian were served at the embassy building

Priest Lyubomir Bratoev is a direct participant in the events of t he founding of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church community in Berlin . He came to the capital of East Germany in the late 1980s as a doctoral student. And, like a typical Orthodox Christian..

published on 2/26/25 8:15 AM

The Church of St. John of Rila – a piece of Bulgaria in London

After nearly 35 years, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in London has its own church in the central part of the British capital, in close proximity to the Bulgarian Embassy. There, in the prestigious Kensington district, next to Hyde Park and..

published on 2/24/25 3:05 PM
Patriarch Daniil

The new Orthodox Church "St. John of Rila" in London opens doors

Meatfare Sunday in 2025 will be remembered as a major celebration for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the entire Bulgarian community in the United Kingdom. The "St. John of Rila" Orthodox Church, built with funds from the Bulgarian state and with..

published on 2/23/25 5:13 PM