On December 27, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saint Stephen - the first Christian martyr and first minister (archdeacon) in the emerging Jerusalem community.
The Jews envied, slandered St. Stephen and the crowd stoned him. Tradition says that the Virgin Mary watched his martyrdom and prayed for him.
This is the third day of Christmas, which ends the Christmas holidays. Families gather around a table with meat dishes - pork with sauerkraut, meat pie, sing songs and have fun. On St. Stephen's Day, young people go to visit their best men, godfathers and older relatives. Name day is celebrated by Stefan (translated from Greek as "wreath"), Stefana, Stefka, Venko, Ventseslav, Stoyan, Stoyko, Stoichko, Stoimen and all names derived from them.
On Stefanovden, the prohibitions characteristic of the so-called "dirty days" are strictly observed. According to popular belief, the period of "dirty days" or "dirty days" begins from Ignazhden or Christmas, which continues until the baptism of the Infant and the water on Jordan's Day (Theophany). This period is associated with the idea of the "unclean" postpartum period of the Holy Mother of God, when she is still a lechusa and is considered unclean. These one or two weeks are called "unbaptized" or “deaf days”, and in the southern parts of the country they are known as “the pagan days”, “ash days”, “karakondzhovi days”, etc.
Folk belief says that this period is especially dangerous because “the earth is on a sieve, it is perforated” and “the sky is open and heaven and hell are merged into one”. Then evil, unclean forces invade the world - karakondzholi, vampires, carrion, samodiv, goblins, werewolves. They roam the “dirty nights”, attack people and livestock, bring disease and death. It is believed that during this period the souls of the dead descend to earth, so they leave an empty place for them at the Christmas Eve table.
To protect against the harmful influence of this period, a number of prohibitions must be observed - one should not go outside from midnight until the first cockcrow, "in the evil time", when evil spirits roam. Homeowners lock the doors of their houses tightly, and hang branches of black hawthorn or juniper on the windows, gates and under the fireplace chimney to drive away demonic forces. People sew cloves of garlic into their clothes, because they believe that the karakonzholi run away from its smell. They were afraid of both fire and light, so homeowners left a candle burning in the window all night.
It is also believed that holy water, icons and prayer also drive away evil spirits. During the "dirty days", a ban on sexual intercourse is strictly observed, because according to popular belief, if a child is conceived during these days, it will be born with a disability and will turn into a werewolf after death. It is also believed that if a person dies during the "karakondzhol days", their soul will become a vampire or turn into a karakondzhol. During this period, church weddings, baptisms, and funerals are not held. If a person dies, a memorial service is held only on the twentieth day after their death.