100 000 Expats Celebrate Bulgarian National Holiday in Chicago

Society | March 4, 2010, Thursday // 12:45
100 000 Expats Celebrate Bulgarian National Holiday in Chicago: 100 000 Expats Celebrate Bulgarian National Holiday in Chicago The Bulgarian national flag floats along the US one in downtown Chicago in commemoration of Bulgaria’s National Holiday. Photo by Eurochicago.com

The Bulgarian national flag was hoisted exactly at noon Wednesday in downtown Chicago to mark Bulgaria’s National Holiday, March 3.

The official ceremony commemorating the 132nd anniversary of Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman rule began with the performance of the national anthem and the lifting of the flag along with the US one at the city’s “Daley Plaza,” Eurochicago.com, the free portal in Bulgarian at news from Chicago, reports.

The tradition dates from 1960, when a group of Bulgarians met with the then Mayor of Chicago and father of the current one, asking him to declare March 3 the Bulgarian Day in Chicago. Moved by the patriotism and the story of the expats, the Mayor fulfilled the request. The celebrations were reinstated in 2006 by his son with the day listed in the city’s official calendar as a sign of respect for the Bulgarian Diaspora in Chicago.

The Wednesday celebrations were organized by the Bulgarian Consulate and the Bulgarian-American Center for Cultural Heritage.

The Bulgarian community received congratulation letters for the Illinois Governor, the Mayor of Chicago, and the Treasurer of Cook County, among others.

All guests were given the traditional Bulgarian martenitsa - the symbol of spring and well-being. Some were handmade by the Bulgarian college students from the University of Illinois. The program included performances of Bulgarian folk dances by the ensemble “Horo” and the students from the Bulgarian Sunday school in the city “John Atanassov.”

The celebrations will last until the weekend at Bulgarian churches and Sunday schools.

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Tags: March 3, Bulgarian Diaspora in Chicago

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