Bulgaria honors on Saturday the Day of Saint Anthony the Great, and the name day of all called Anton for the males and Antonya for the females.

Saint Anthony the Great (c 251-356), also known as Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius and Father of All Monks, was an Egyptian Christian saint and the prominent leader among the Desert Fathers. He is celebrated in many churches on his Feast Days, which in the Eastern Orthodox Church falls on January 17.

Anthony lived in Alexandria for much of his life. Most of what is known about Saint Anthony comes from the Life of Anthony, written in Greek around 360 by Athanasius of Alexandria. Sometime before 374, it was translated into Latin by Evagrius of Antioch.

The biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius helped to spread the concept of monasticism, particularly in Western Europe.

According to Athanasius, the devil fought Saint Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women, which he overcame by the power of prayer.

Because of that, in the Bulgarian folklore and tradition, Anthony is appealed on January 17 to help against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases such as plague and measles.

On this day, in order to keep the deceases away, women are not allowed to spin, knit, boil beans or lentils because the belief is that such activities would make the deceases angry. They do, however, knead and bake special small flat loafs to give to relatives, friends and neighbors for good health.

In the folklore Saint Anthony is also the inventor of the blacksmith pliers. Because of that January 17 is also the day of all blacksmiths and cutlers.

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