Thursday 1 May 2014

Labour day / Ден на труда

National holiday; 6 days off from 1th to the 6th of may and time to visit friends in Primorsko! Not bad at all! 
But wait a second... Why did we get all these days off again you say..? 
- Ah yeah, Labour day!

In Bulgaria is the 1th of may, like in many other countries, the day that marks the struggle for dignified work and of curse the feeling of solidarity amongst laborers. 
Even the Roman Catholic Church has dedicated this day to St. Joseph the Worker.

In 1890 the Socialist International recognized May 1th as an international day to celebrate the struggle for workers' rights, which in around 30 years after, among other, was the struggle to get the right of eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

In Denmark the day is used by the working unions and some of the the socialistic politicians, to gather all their supporters to celebrate and to share a day of common ideology and long speeches. 
But the 1th of may, in Denmark, isn't a national holiday and not everyone is having the day of; some only partly and others not at all, depending on the agreement the company has with the specific union.
The day is celebrated in most of Europe and also America but the way of celebration and traditions for the 1th of may is not the same in two countries and the variations are many.

The 6th of May is the Day of Saint George and the national holiday for celebration of the Bulgarian Army.

In Bulgaria St. George is the patron of spring verdure and fertility, and of shepherds and farmers. His Day, May 6, is believed to set in summer and the new farming cycle.
He is also among the few saints to be honered by both Christians and Muslims alike.

May 6 was officially pronounced as the Day of the Bulgarian Army on January 9, 1880, shortly after the establishment of the country's military.
Then in 1946 when the Communist regime came to power, the holiday was banned and first reinstated on January 27, 1993 and since 1998 been marked as a national holiday.

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