Heavy carriage horses at the Plovdiv fair
Archive photo of Agro Plovdiv
Today is Todorovden, also called Horse Easter. The date on which it is celebrated varies, but it is always on the first Saturday after Shrovetide. On this day, as well as on February 17, the Church commemorates St. Theodore Tyrone.
It was he who prevented the rude joke of the emperor Julian the Apostate (332-363). The emperor decided to mock the strict fasting of Christians before Easter. He ordered the mayor of Constantinople to sprinkle animal blood on all the lean foods in the market.
St. Theodore Tiron appeared to Patriarch Eudoxius and warned him about the desecration of food. In turn, the patriarch spread the information among the Christians and they stopped buying from the markets, eating boiled wheat (kolivo) during that time.
Legend has it that on this day St. Todor took off his nine coats, rode a white horse and went to God to beg for summer.
Todorovden is also a holiday for young brides who got married during the year, and that is why it is also called Bulkina Sunday. According to tradition, they are not allowed to knead and bake bread until Todorovden. Rites are performed for the health and fertility of young brides.
The most interesting moment of Todorovden is the kushiya, that’s why the holiday is also called Horse Easter. At sunrise the men braid the horses’ tails and manes, decorate them with beads, tassels and flowers and take them to a watering hole. The women knead ritual breads, giving them to the horses as well. They also boil wheat, which is blessed in the church temple.
Today Bozhidar, Bozhidara, Dora, Dorina, Dorothea, Teodor, Teodora, Teodorina, Todor, Todora, Todorka celebrate their name day.