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Bulgaria's calendar combines national commemorations, Orthodox Christian observances and seasonal traditions. Many customs were preserved through centuries of Ottoman rule and later adapted to modern public life.
Below are several widely observed dates. Not every date is a statutory public holiday, and official non-working days should be checked for the relevant year.
National Holidays and Commemorations
March 3 – Liberation Day of Bulgaria. Commemorates Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule.
May 6 — Bulgarian Armed Forces Day and St George's Day. The date has both military and religious significance. It honours the armed forces and Saint George.
May 24 — Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Bulgarian Education and Culture, and the Slavonic Alphabet. Honours Saints Cyril and Methodius and Bulgaria's literary and educational traditions.
September 6 is the Day of the Unification of Bulgaria. Commemorates the 1885 unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia.
September 22 – Independence Day of Bulgaria. Celebrated in honor of complete independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908.
Interesting fact: Veliko Tarnovo is a central location for Independence Day ceremonies. In this city in 1908, the manifesto of independence was read out.
November 1 is National Revival Leaders' Day. The day honours educators, writers, clergy and revolutionaries associated with Bulgaria's national revival.
Summer
June 1 is Children's Day.
June 2 is Hristo Botev Day. Commemorates revolutionary poet Hristo Botev and others who died for Bulgaria's freedom.
Autumn
September 15 – First day of school.
October 26 – Dimitrov Day. An Orthodox feast day associated in folk tradition with the transition into winter.
October 31st — Halloween is observed informally in some places; it is not the same as All Saints' Day and is not a Bulgarian public holiday.
Winter
December 25 — Christmas Day.
January 1 – New Year.
February 14 — Trifon Zarezan, a winegrowers' tradition often observed on 14 February.
Spring
March 1 — Baba Marta, the traditional welcome to spring.
March 8 is Women's Day.
May 1 — Labour Day.
