site.btaUPDATED Day of Valour, Armed Forces Marked without Military Parade

The Feast Day of St George, which is celebrated as a Day of Valour and of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, was marked in central Sofia on Monday by a blessing of the colours and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier but without a military parade.

Caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said on April 10 that the Government has decided to cancel the parade and instead prioritize Easter Monday, which this year coincides with the military holiday.

The attendees included President Rumen Radev (who is also Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Armed Forces), National Assembly Deputy Chair Rositsa Kirova, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, the Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev, MPs, cabinet members, top brass and foreign diplomats.

The observance started at 10 a.m. with a traditional blessing of the military colours, as Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa, Locum Tenens of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church sprinkled the colours with holy water. After the religious rite, President Rumen Radev reviewed the troops of the four armed services.

The national anthem was played and a 20-gun salute was fired.

Next, service members representing the Land Forces, the Bulgarian Air Force, the Bulgarian Navy and the Special Operations Forces marched past the dignitaries in Sveti Alexander Nevsky Square.

Finally, there was a flypast by three MiG-29 jet fighters over the square.

Bits of History

On January 9, 1880 Prince Alexander I designated April 17 Day of the Military Order for Valour (the first Bulgarian order he instituted on January 1, 1880). The Military Order for Valour Day was marked modestly with a memorial prayer service and a luncheon limited to the officers and soldiers on whom this honour had been conferred.

On April 10, 1891 Prince Ferdinand I decreed the transfer of the Military Order for Valour Day from April 17 to April 23 (it was moved to May 6 in 1916 when Bulgaria adopted the Gregorian Calendar), merging the observance with the Feast Day of the military's patron saint, St George the Victorious, and extending the festivities to the entire military personnel.

Until 1919 Bulgaria had two military holidays: the Day of Valour (May 6) and the Day of Combat Glory (November 27, the anniversary of the Bulgarian victory in the Battle of Slivnitsa during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War). The latter celebration was abandoned in the 1920s because November 27 was also the date of signature in 1919 of the Treaty of Neuilly that sealed Bulgaria's disastrous defeat in WW I. From then on, May 6 was observed simultaneously as a Day of Valour and of the Bulgarian Army, and this arrangement was formalized by a royal decree in 1931.

The first solemn torchlight tattoo and roll-call was organized on the eve of St George's Day in 1937. Since then, this sunset retreat ceremony, during which the names of the most prominent dead heroes are called out in remembrance, has been an integral part of each national observance.

A Council of Ministers decree of May 2, 1947 abolished the St George's Day celebration, including the military parades tradition. Until 1953 the Bulgarian People's Army marked its day on September 9, after which September 23 (the anniversary of the outbreak of the Communist-led September 1923 Uprising) replaced that date. After the advent of democracy, the Seventh Grand National Assembly designated August 23 Bulgarian Army Day, marking the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Shipka in 1877 which was won thanks to the heroism of the Bulgarian volunteers. Observances on that date, however, took place only twice, in 1991 and 1992. On January 27, 1993 a Council of Ministers decree reinstated May 6 as a Day of Valour and of the Bulgarian Armed Forces.

May 6 has been a public holiday (non-working day) since 1998.