Sts Peter and Paul Day (Petrovden)
29 June 2026 — The first apples are ripe, and summer is in full swing!
Petrovden is celebrated on 29 June and is the church feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, honoured together as two of the central preachers of Christianity. It follows the Fast of the Apostles, which begins on the Monday after All Saints Sunday and ends on 28 June. On Petrovden the fast ends, and meat and dairy return to the table; if the feast falls on a Wednesday or Friday, fish is allowed instead.
In Bulgarian folk tradition the day marks the height of summer, the first ripe fruits and the harvest season. In many places the first fruits are blessed, and some regions hold a communal offering of food. The apples that ripen around this time are known as petrovki, after the feast.
The date falls a little after the summer solstice, around 21 June, when the days begin to shorten. Petrovden therefore feels like a pause in the middle of summer, before the busiest harvest days begin.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of luminous dots and thin lines, like a constellation drifting across the sky: a woven basket brimming with round apples, a few softly glowing points rolling over its rim
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