Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Orthodox Christians venerate St. Anna - Mother of the Theotokos 

Photo: Archive

On December 9th we celebrate St. Anna - the mother of the Virgin Mary. Joachim and Anna had been childless for many years and prayed to God to grant them a baby. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to Anna and told her that she would give birth to a daughter, Mary, for the salvation of the world. Grateful for the news, she promised to dedicate the child to God. True to her word, she and her husband took the three-year-old girl to the temple. 

St Anna is the patron saint of marriage, family, motherhood and women. 

The Orthodox Church also honours St. Anna in the summer, on 25 July, when the day of her succession is celebrated. Today's day is known in popular tradition as St. Anne's Winter or St. Anne's Conception. Traditionally, the meal is fasted, as the feast falls during Christmas Lent. 
In Hebrew, the name Anna means grace, mercy, favour. Name Day on 9 December celebrates all those who bear the name Anna, Anka, etc.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Exquisitely engraved vessels and finely crafted idols - Kozareva mound reveals its secrets

The findings from the archaeological excavations of Kozareva mound - a settlement from the 5th millennium BC , became a real sensation already in 2014, when they were presented to the general public for the first time. Among the exquisite exhibits of..

published on 9/7/24 6:05 AM
Prof. Ivan Ilchev

The Greatness of Bulgaria’s Unification and the Consequences of the Unionist Syndrome

On September 6, 1885, Bulgaria again became a unified state. In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, history professor from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" Ivan Ilchev tells us more about the factors that led to the Unification, when the..

published on 9/6/24 11:25 AM
The Monument of Unification in Plovdiv

Unification Day is a celebration of national unity and community

For Bulgarians, who cherish and honour the memory of their ancestors, 6 September symbolises the unification of their nation, which endured five centuries of Ottoman oppression while preserving its faith and identity. After the liberation of Bulgaria..

published on 9/6/24 7:15 AM