The festival in honor of St. Petka – Petkovden, is celebrated on October 14 and is considered the end of summer and autumn, and therefore also of the active economic cycle.
Venerable Petka, also called Bulgarian, was born in the town of Epivat on the Sea of Marmara in the 11th century. He led a pious life and after his death his relics, which possess a healing power, became a symbol of the struggle to preserve Christian culture from Islamic assimilation. Tsar Ivan Asen II took them to Tarnovo, where they were kept until capture by the Turks. After long wanderings, the relics found rest in the Romanian city of Iași, where they remain to this day.
On this day, pet insemination usually takes place, also known as a sheep wedding or moult. In Christian mythology, Saint Petka is honored as the patroness of women and their domestic activities: spinning, weaving, cutting, sewing. In the Thrace region around Petkovden, special sacrifices of black hens are known, called Kokosha Church, Church of God, Spirit of God, etc.
In Petkovden, cakes are kneaded and the largest is named after St. Petka. The bread and the house must be sprinkled with holy water and the whole family must worship the bread three times. A ritual meal includes mutton, kurban soup, stew with leeks, sarmi.
