On November 11, the Bulgarians honor Saint Mina, traditions tell about the numerous miracles that the saint performed. They believed that if they prayed to him from the heart, he would help them. Saint Mina came to people's dreams and thoughts and performed miracles. He appeared before sinners, exposed them and thus brought them back to the righteous life.
Saint Mina was a warrior in Egypt and professed the Christian faith. He is revered as one of the most prominent warriors and protector of military personnel. He was once a famous and brave warrior, but he withdrew into the desert because the wild beasts were better than the heathen people.
Translated from Greek, the saint's name means “I find“, “I inform“ and that is why the belief that it helps to find stolen and lost things and animals is spreading among Bulgarians. Known in the Rhodopes as Saint Mina the Silver, accepted as the patron saint of all, he maintains the hope that nothing is irreversible. An important condition is not to become addicted to things and not to grieve desperately for them.
According to folk etymology, the name of St. Mina is also associated with the verb “diverges”, which is why they honor the saint – “ let diseases and bad things go away from people“. Accepted as a folk healer, today healers and psychics revere him. Saint Mina is also the patron saint of women, so their prayers for the health of the home and children are directed to him. Travelers also turn to him in the hope that he will protect them on the distant roads of the earth.
The Feast of St. Mina marks the middle of the so-called Wolf Feasts – the time from Archangel's Day /November 8/ to Christmas Eve /November 14/ in which the wolves rage. In some places, the Wolf holidays start on Christmas Eve and end on the Epiphany /November 21/. The last day is dedicated to the most terrible wolf that walks last after the herd, known as Kutsulan.
The Bulgarian also charged St. Mina with the mission of being the master of the wolves, letting them go and taking them away. Because of his dominance over them in the iconographic tradition of the Samokov school, St. Mina is depicted as a warrior riding a white horse. He holds a spear in one hand and in the other – two tied wolves. In Sofia and Central Stara Planina they say that St. Mina “leads the Wolf holidays”. In the Sofia settlements, these days are called Vuchlyatsi or Wolf days, and in the Troyan and Teteven villages they are known as Zverin holidays, and the first day of this period is called Dzverin day.
On this day, mud or manure is stuck around the hearth and behind the door – rituals related to the belief that the wolf's eyes should be glued. The scissors are tied and the women sew the front and back ends of their skirts to tie and sew the animal's mouth. The name of the terrible beast is not mentioned. It is said that a she-wolf cannot become pregnant unless she eats live coal or woolen cloth made during these days. Therefore, the ashes from the hearths are not thrown away, and the coals are extinguished in water. Various prohibitions are observed so that the wolves do not descend near the settlement, so that they do not attack the herds and the people - the women do not spin, do not weave or embroider, and do not wear the woolen clothes made during these days, so that a wolf does not come out to meet them. Salt is not pounded, wood is not split, combs are not touched, horse stalls and pens are not knocked down. These prohibitions are observed especially during the Wolf holidays.
In Sliven, St. Mina is revered as a mythical ruler of one of the most terrible diseases that plagued the past – the plague, because according to tradition “St. Mina caught and locked the disease”. In the settlements around Pirin, the saint is considered the lord of “bad diseases” and epilepsy. Tradition dictates that a sacrificial offering should be made in the temple in his honor, his icons should be decorated with flowers and gifts, loaves smeared with honey should be kneaded, so that St. Mina would drive all diseases away from the village.
In folk beliefs, the feast of St. Mina is considered “heavy“ day and therefore women must honor it, otherwise they will suffer badly. On his holiday, they go to a church or chapel and light candles for health. When setting off on a long journey, people cross themselves with a wish: “May St. Mina be ahead and help!“. When a person gets sick or loses something valuable, he lights a candle in front of the saint's icon.
The Bulgarian has learned to guess and predict the weather - if on these days the sky is clear and sunny, in the summer the bees will be good and hardworking.
Near Sofia is the Obradov monastery “St. great martyr Mina“. It houses the miraculous icon of the saint, in front of which the flow of believers never ceases, especially around November 11, when many people gather with faith, hope and reverence.
The Church honors him together with St. Victor and Vicentius, therefore the names of this day are Mina, Victor, Vicentius, Minka, Victoria and their derivatives. Let's wish them health, wisdom and success.
Prepared by: Temenuga Yordanova, ethnologist, source: regnews.net