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

"St. George" or "Ederlezi" - the song that always accompanies St. George's Day

Photo: YouTube /Nina Nikolina

There are many songs in Bulgarian folklore about Saint George the Victorious. On May 6, however, an extremely popular Romani song called "Ederlezi" is often performed, as this is the Romani name of the holiday dedicated to the saint. We can easily call the song the anthem of the Roma in the Balkans. However, we can hear it performed in Greek, Serbian, Croatian, Turkish and of course, Bulgarian. The message is strongly related to the spring revival of life and hopes.

The song is part of the repertoire of a number of musicians in Bulgaria and around the world but today we offer you Nina Nikolina's version. The song is part of the "Tradition and Classic" project, in which Nina Nikolina partners with the orchestra of the State Opera - Ruse.

The recording is from a concert in Gabrovo held in 2020. The folk music and lyrics are in a new arrangement created by Kalin Velyov, Martin Tashev and Yasen Velchev. Conductor Georgi Miltiadov is the author of the orchestration of the melody.

Editor: E. Karkalanova 
Publication in English: Al. Markov


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

"The Key is G" unlocks memories of our childhood home

We start the New Year with a heart-warming song – The Key is G , performed by one of Bulgaria's beloved pop singers, Margarita Hranova . The poet Djina Dundova was inspired to write her beautiful verses by an old house in the Balkans. She dedicated..

published on 1/2/25 12:40 PM

Musician Dimitar Atanasov: Let's take stock of the good deeds we have done for others

Christmas has arrived! We are happy if we have warmth and manage to give love and a smile to the people around us. The Christmas mood is in the hearts, in the lights, the decorations and... in the songs. "For all of us, the bright..

published on 12/27/24 9:35 AM

DaniAN's Silent Starry Night evokes Christmas spirit

Daniela Nikolova-DaniAN shares with us her new song "Silent Starry Night".  The story of how she wrote the song resonates with the Christmas spirit, because it is about family and the love of our near and dear.  DaniAN wrote the music and lyrics..

published on 12/27/24 9:10 AM