A fathers’ protest is being organized in front of the courthouse building in Sofia at 11 AM today against the way the authorities treat the rights of children and parents in mother-father conflicts. The organizers from the Association for Child Development Article 24 say there is no functioning mechanism monitoring whether the court divorce rulings are being applied with regard to contacts with the children. The NGO will put up a Christmas half-tree in front of the courthouse to convey the message that no child must be left with half of their parents. The symbolic protest takes place on Father’s Day every year.
Boxing Day, 26 December is marked in Bulgaria as Father’s Day; it is a day marked on different dates in different parts of the world. In this country it is connected with the Christian Orthodox calendar, according to which on 26 December, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church commemorates St. Joseph the Betrothed who served as husband of Mary and father of Jesus.