[/caption]On September 17 everyone who is called Vyara (Faith), Nadezhda (Hope), Love (Lyubov) or Sophia (Sofia) has a name day. The name Sophia comes from Greek (“sofia”) and means wisdom. On this day the Eastern Orthodox Church venerates three brave Christian girls and their mother. St. Sophia was fervently devoted to Christianity and she taught her three daughters to truly love God. In 1st century AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian tortured the three girls to death because of their Christian faith. Their mother witnessed their unbearable sufferings. Then she buried them and three days later she died herself.[caption id="attachment_164" align="alignright" width="300" caption="St Sophia Basilica Source: The Internet"]
[/caption]On the day of their self-sacrifice, Christians venerate St Sophia and her three daughters, named after the Church’s virtues of faith, hope, love and wisdom. The holiday is celebrated with baked bread, fruit and joyful songs.[caption id="attachment_168" align="alignleft" width="215" caption="Sofia Statue Source: The Internet"]
[/caption]On September 17, the capital city of Sofia celebrates its holiday. The Bulgarian capital’s motto is It Grows But It Does Not Grow Old. The city holiday is traditionally celebrated with many cultural events such as theatre plays, exhibitions, dance, etc. You can read more about the 2010 cultural programme dedicated to Sofia City holiday here.