site.btaToday's Observances: Jan. 6 and 7

January 6

The Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany. The third most important Christian feast day of the year.

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1848: Prominent Bulgarian poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev is born in the town of Kalofer, Southern Bulgaria.

1938: Diplomatic relations established with Mexico at legation level (severed December 20, 1941, restored at embassy level June 11, 1974).

1992: Town of Stanke Dimitrov (Southwestern Bulgaria) renamed Dupnitsa by presidential decree.

1993: Ritual of consecration of the banners of the Bulgarian Armed Forces on Epiphany reinstated by an order of the Defence Minister. The first such water blessing ceremony was held on August 19, 917, on the eve of the battle at Aheloy. The ritual was performed from 1879 to 1946.

1999: National Health Insurance Fund holds first General Meeting of Representatives.

2001: The trial in Libya against six Bulgarian medics charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998 in Benghazi commences, after many postponements. The defendants are first sentenced to death, then their case is remanded to Libya's highest court, and are sentenced to death again, a penalty which is upheld by Libya's highest court in early July 2007. The six then have their sentences commuted to life in prison. They are eventually released following a deal reached with European Union representatives on humanitarian issues. On 24 July 2007, the six are extradited to Bulgaria, where their sentences are commuted by the President, and they are freed.

January 7

The Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of St John the Baptist (Ivanovden).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1878: First Boys' High School opens in Sofia.

1918: Grand Symbol Lodge of masons in Bulgaria is established.

1932: Bulgarian-Albanian protocol on recognition of minorities is signed in Sofia.

1945: In the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), 1,260 Bulgarians are killed on account of their self-identification (Bloody Christmas). Another 23,000 are killed over the following days.

1992: The Hristo Botev Bulgarian Library opens in Chisinau, Moldova.