While walking around Chiprovtsi, keep an eye out for the ancient looking stone crosses scattered seemingly at random around town. Their significance, originating in pagan times, extends to modern day Christian rituals. In the past, sacrifices in honor of the god/patron of a certain area were carried out in perceived holy places – under big trees, on tops of hills, etc. Some of these places were preserved and the superstitions connected with them have been preserved over the years.
Gradually the ritual trees were replaced with stone crosses, each cross representing a different saint. On the day of the saint, a lamb is sacrificed, blessings are made, and a ceremonial table is laid. Each family brings a ritual loaf of bread with a beeswax candle lit in the center. These celebrations are connected with the belief in that patron saints will protect believers from natural calamities. A spectacular celebration on top of a mountain occurs at the stone cross at the Gushovski Monastery on September 6th for St Michael the Archangel. Celebrations at the other crosses and their dates follow:
· January 6 – St. Jordan Day and Epiphany
· May 9 - St. Nicholas Summer
· 5 June - Ascension Day
· Date varies – St. Trinity
· June 29 - Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
· July 20 - St. Elias
· August 6 - Transfiguration
· August 15 - Assumption of Mary
· September 6 –St. Michael the Archangel
· October 26 – St. Dimitir
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Chiprovtsi
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Chiprovtsi - updated May 2024
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Chiprovtsi Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
