Holidays: Love or Wine?
Valentine's? Surely
it's St. Trifon The Pruner day
Honoring the patron saint of
vine growers is the right way to mark February 14, many in the Balkan
country say, although Valentine's Day 
popularity
is quickly growing among the young. Wine makers across Bulgaria salute
St. Trifon with the annual trimming of the grape vines, which symbolizes
the end of winter. The tradition requires women to bake bread and
roast hens in preparation for a post-pruning feast
By ANNA MUDEVA
Story from REUTERS
Lovers can officially ignore Valentine's Day in Bulgaria because the
day is given over to the celebration of wine and St. Trifon The Pruner.
Honoring the patron saint of vine growers is the right way to mark
February 14, many in the Balkan country say, although Valentine's
Day popularity is quickly growing among the young.
The wine rituals have their roots in the devotion to the ancient Greek
god of Dionysus and the Thracians who once inhabited the territory
of modern Bulgaria and were known for their winemaking skills.
Wine makers across Bulgaria salute St. Trifon with the annual trimming
of the grape vines, which symbolizes the end of winter. The tradition
requires women to bake bread and roast hens in preparation for a post-pruning
feast.
In every town, the man deemed to have grown the most grapes that year
is crowned King, put on a horse-cart, driven from house to house and
ordered to get drunk with his friends in order to ensure a plentiful
harvest in the coming year.
St.
Trifon lived in the third century AD and is believed to have had the
divine power to heal any sickness. He was tortured to death and beheaded
for his Christian faith.
The Orthodox Church in largely Christian Bulgaria celebrates St. Trifon
on February 1 according to the new religious calendar but most people
prefer to do it on February 14 according to the old calendar, not
least as an alternative to Valentine's Day.
"Valentine's Day is nonsense. We had never heard about it until
some 15 years ago. I'll stick with St. Trifon," said Sofia resident
Georgi Blagoev, 34.
Internet blogs and forums are full of heated debates about which holiday
Bulgarians should celebrate but there are plenty who say they would
celebrate both.
"Why not celebrate the day of love with a glass of wine. We will
get drunk anyway," quipped 24-year-old Mira Nikolova.
(Published: 09.03.2008.)
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