HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM

The report looks at the development of the official Bulgarian holiday calendar and especially during the years of state socialism. The analysis shows that military victories are not the primary motive in choosing official memorial days. Even the Bulgarian military exploits are not of special honor...

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Main Author: Petko St. Petkov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje 2020-09-01
Series:EtnoAntropoZum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://etno.pmf.ukim.mk/index.php/eaz/article/view/467
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author Petko St. Petkov
author_facet Petko St. Petkov
author_sort Petko St. Petkov
collection DOAJ
description The report looks at the development of the official Bulgarian holiday calendar and especially during the years of state socialism. The analysis shows that military victories are not the primary motive in choosing official memorial days. Even the Bulgarian military exploits are not of special honor in forming the official state holiday of new Bulgaria. The festive calendar does not include the victories for the Bulgarians of the Middle Ages, and there are no new military exploits in the twentieth century. During the period of socialism, the holidays of May 1 (International Labor Day) and September 9 (1944), proclaimed as "Freedom Day" in 1945, became the main focus. Like all other events in the life of the People's Republic, the holiday is used for a purely functional purpose - to unite, to emphasize unity, to reaffirm loyalty to the ruling party and the new ideology, to show confidence in the imminent onset of prosperity and a "bright future" - communism. Particular attention is paid to substantiating the claim that the Third March was imposed as a national holiday by communist rule in the early 1990s. It is not as suitable for this role as the oldest all-Bulgarian holiday on May 24th. It is because of public holidays, incl. and the only national one so far (March 3) have always been determined by political decisions - until 1944 of the monarch, the National Assembly, and a specially authorized ministry, and after 1944 - predominantly the Council of Ministers or the State Council, rarely at the National Assembly.
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spelling doaj.art-fe432aca3c1f4818910042511e901ee12023-12-01T09:46:29ZengSs Cyril and Methodius University in SkopjeEtnoAntropoZum1409-939X1857-968X2020-09-01202010.37620/EAZ2020271pHISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISMPetko St. Petkov The report looks at the development of the official Bulgarian holiday calendar and especially during the years of state socialism. The analysis shows that military victories are not the primary motive in choosing official memorial days. Even the Bulgarian military exploits are not of special honor in forming the official state holiday of new Bulgaria. The festive calendar does not include the victories for the Bulgarians of the Middle Ages, and there are no new military exploits in the twentieth century. During the period of socialism, the holidays of May 1 (International Labor Day) and September 9 (1944), proclaimed as "Freedom Day" in 1945, became the main focus. Like all other events in the life of the People's Republic, the holiday is used for a purely functional purpose - to unite, to emphasize unity, to reaffirm loyalty to the ruling party and the new ideology, to show confidence in the imminent onset of prosperity and a "bright future" - communism. Particular attention is paid to substantiating the claim that the Third March was imposed as a national holiday by communist rule in the early 1990s. It is not as suitable for this role as the oldest all-Bulgarian holiday on May 24th. It is because of public holidays, incl. and the only national one so far (March 3) have always been determined by political decisions - until 1944 of the monarch, the National Assembly, and a specially authorized ministry, and after 1944 - predominantly the Council of Ministers or the State Council, rarely at the National Assembly. https://etno.pmf.ukim.mk/index.php/eaz/article/view/467Bulgarian state, official holidays, state socialism, May 1st, September 9th, a national holiday, Third March, Twenty-fourth May
spellingShingle Petko St. Petkov
HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM
EtnoAntropoZum
Bulgarian state, official holidays, state socialism, May 1st, September 9th, a national holiday, Third March, Twenty-fourth May
title HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM
title_full HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM
title_fullStr HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM
title_full_unstemmed HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM
title_short HISTORICAL MEMORY AND OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN BULGARIA UNDER SOCIALISM
title_sort historical memory and official holidays in bulgaria under socialism
topic Bulgarian state, official holidays, state socialism, May 1st, September 9th, a national holiday, Third March, Twenty-fourth May
url https://etno.pmf.ukim.mk/index.php/eaz/article/view/467
work_keys_str_mv AT petkostpetkov historicalmemoryandofficialholidaysinbulgariaundersocialism