Bulgaria Celebrates Honey, Beehives Day

Bulgarian Orthodox faithfuls light candles with jars of honey during a holy mass for the 'sanctification of honey' at the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin church in the town of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, 10 February 2011.

February 10 marks the day of St. Haralambos, the day of honey and beehives for the Bulgarian Orthodox Christians.

A ritual for health and rich harvest is performed in churches across the country. Honey is consecrated in the local church and then all the bread is coated with it. The rest of the honey is kept in the house as a remedy. According to the belief, St. Haralambos blesses the land and it gets warmer and ready to be cultivated.

St. Haralambos is also traditionally believed to be the lord of all illnesses especially the plague. Doing any housework is strictly forbidden that day, because of the fear of any coming illness.

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