On February 14, Bulgarians celebrate both Trifon Zarezan and Valentine Day

In an attempt to do away with this pagan festival, in AD 496, Pope Gelasius made a change to the ritual. In what was no doubt a popular move among the young men of the day, girls’ names were substituted for the names of saints who were to be emulated for the rest of the year. The church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take the place of Lupercus and found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius. Claudius had decided that single men made better soldiers than married men and outlawed marriage. But Valentine performed marriages for young couples in secret. He was subsequently imprisoned and fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. He signed his farewell message to her before he was taken to his death: ‘from your Valentine’, thus coining the phrase used in Valetnine’s cards today.

As part of a larger effort to reduce the number of saint days of purely legendary origin, the Church removed St Valentine’s Day as an official holiday from its calendar in 1969, but the tradition has remained.

It was only after the fall of communism in 1989 that Valentine’s Day started to be celebrated in Bulgaria. Now, as in many parts of the western world, it has become big business for the greeting cards, flowers, chocolates, underwear and other industries, but Bulgarians not wishing to be caught up in the commercial whirlwind can always turn to Trifon Zarezan and a good bottle of wine, or two.

Trifon Zarezan is a long lasting tradition on Bulgarian lands.

This traditional ritual marks the beginning of the new vinegrowing season.

Trifon’s Day also known as Trifon Zarezan, Zarezan’s Day, Trifun Chipia, Trifun Zarezoy and Trifun Drunkard, is the day of the vine-growers, tavern-keepers and gardeners, who are protected by the saint-healer Trifon.

Name day for: Trifon, Trifonka also Name day of everyone named Valentin, Valentina, Valya and Valio.

According to the legend, Trifon Zarezan cut off his nose while pruning the vines in his vineyard. Since then, on this day, the villagers have been pruning back their vines believing that this act will bring them richer vintage.

The Orthodox Church celebrates and honors St. Trifon – one of the most glorified saint-healers, who lived in the III century AD. The 17 year-old Trifon healed the daughter of the Roman Emperor Gordian and in doing so gained great glory and respect.

Since most of the Bulgarians are celebrating either St. Valentine's Day or Trifon Zarezan or both, be advised that if you are planning to go out to a pub or a restaurant on 14 February, you should best make a reservation in advance. Otherwise your chances to find a place are close to zero.