site.btaBulgaria's Independence Day Celebrations Culminate in Military Tattoo, Fireworks Display in Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria celebrated the 116th anniversary of the proclamation of its independence on Sunday. The celebrations culminated in a military tattoo and a fireworks display in Veliko Tarnovo where Prince Ferdinand I proclaimed the Principality of Bulgaria an independent kingdom on September 22, 1908.

National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan addressed those gathered, saying that now independence is the freedom to state and defend one's interests in a complex and conflicted world. 

She also said: "Having rejected the oppression of totalitarianism, today we share the path and the dreams of generations of Bulgarians for a dignified, sovereign Bulgaria in the European Union, a union of half a billion free and prosperous people, which, despite turbulent times, difficulties and challenges, defends fervently the European achievements of humanism and the well-being of its citizens."

"What does being independent mean today: neither self-sufficiency, nor isolation, nor a fence to the outside world. Independence today is the freedom to name and assert your interests in a complex and conflicted world," Nazaryan said.

Veliko Tarnovo Mayor Daniel Panov said independence is a source of national pride, honour and dignity. "This was the case back in 1908 and one year later, when the proud people of Tarnovo celebrated the first year of independence in a grand manner. Eyewitnesses said the town looked like a fairy-tale castle. People rejoiced and embraced each other in the streets."

September 22 can be said to be an all-Bulgarian holiday, Panov added. "We prove this by respecting our history and heroes, by preserving our traditions and customs."