On Ilin’s name day, Ilia, Iliyan, Ilin, Iskra, Ilina, Iliyana, Ilinka, Ilian, Iliana, Ilko, Ilcho, Ilka, Lina, Licho, Ilonka are celebrating.
According to the folk belief of Ilinden, one should not work because lightning can strike the person. You don’t go to the beach because the sea takes its toll on this day. From today the weather turns, the autumn winds begin to blow, there are waves and dead current.
By the time you count to five, the wave hits you and then pulls you in. Ilinden comes with a dead grip on the sea, say the old fishermen.
In the Bulgarian folk calendar, Ilinden is the biggest summer holiday during harvest and threshing. Furriers, saddlers and bakers also celebrate on this day, because the prophet is their patron.
Ilinden is the day on which the Holy Prophet Elijah is honored. According to the old style, it is celebrated on August 2, and according to the new – on July 20.
Saint Elijah is regarded by all Christians as the greatest biblical prophet and, together with Moses, as one of the two greatest men of the Old Testament. In mythological representations, the saint walks across the sky in a golden chariot and pursues the lama who grazes the grain.
In the Bulgarian folk calendar, Ilinden is the most beloved summer holiday during harvest and threshing.
On this day, adults tell stories and sing songs about the Holy Prophet Elijah, who drives a fiery chariot with six horses across the sky and begs God for their health and well-being, good weather and fertility.
According to the belief of this day, the sea takes the most victims as a sacrifice for the saint. That is why the day is celebrated as Drowned Man’s Day.
Folk tradition dictates that no work should be done on this day, so as not to anger Saint Elijah, who is revered as the lord of the summer heavenly elements, thunder and hail. Otherwise, the person may be struck by lightning.
You don’t even go to the beach, as people are threatened with drowning.
If it thunders today, the fruit trees will be damaged, the walnuts and hazelnuts will be empty. There will be a drought, the superstitions also show.
On Ilinden, sacrifices are made for health, large village assemblies and celebrations are also organized. Furriers, saddlers, and bakers celebrate their guild holiday, because the Holy Prophet Elijah is their patron saint.
On Ilinden, peasant farmers in our country pray for rain, and in some regions of Bulgaria, on the day before the holiday, the ritual chasing of a dragon is also performed – a symbol of drought.
The day of the Ilinden-Preobrazhen Uprising is also celebrated in Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, where it is celebrated in the old style on August 2.
