Bulgarians Celebrate Day of St. John the Baptist

Hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians with the most popular Bulgarian name - “Ivan” - are celebrating Thursday their name day.

For Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, January 7 is the day for honoring St. John the Baptist who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.

The day of St. John the Baptist is also known as “Ivanovden” in Bulgaria. It is celebrated as a name day by several hundred thousand Bulgarians bearing the names of Ivan, Ivanka, Ivana, Ivaylo, Ivelina, Yoan, Yoana, Kaloyan, Vanyo, Vana, among others.

On Ivanovden, according to past Bulgarian customs, at early dawn young women brought water from a river or a well. In a large caldron, referred to as "chebar", they bathed the children for health. The young couples, who had married in the winter before St. John's Day, were also given a bath in this "chebar".

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