On November 21, the Orthodox Church marks the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a date that in Bulgaria is also observed as the Day of the Christian Family and Youth. The feast recalls the moment when the Virgin Mary, at the age of three, was taken by her parents Joachim and Anna to the Jerusalem Temple. They fulfilled a promise they had made before her birth, dedicating their daughter to God in a solemn act deeply rooted in early Christian tradition.

Church accounts describe how Joachim and Anna gathered relatives and friends for the occasion. Young girls carrying candles walked ahead of the child, while sacred hymns welcomed the procession at the temple. The Virgin Mary was placed on the first of the temple steps and, to the astonishment of everyone present, ascended all 15 steps on her own and waited at the top.

She was then brought into the temple by High Priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. He led her into the Holy of Holies, a place entered only once a year by the high priest. Her parents offered their sacrifices, received a priestly blessing, and returned to Nazareth. Mary remained in the temple, where virgins dedicated to God lived in separate quarters alongside widows, strangers, and newcomers. Her mother, Anna, who became a widow soon after, joined her daughter for a short period before passing away.

Mary grew up under the guidance of older devout maidens. She devoted herself to prayer, work, and the reading of the Scriptures. The Church later described her as the bright dawn from which the Sun of Righteousness would rise. When she reached the customary age for the temple-raised virgins to leave and marry, she expressed her desire to remain devoted to God. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the priests arranged her betrothal to the elderly Joseph, a relative of her family who respected her vow and served as her guardian.

The icon depicting the Presentation shows the three-year-old Mary ascending the temple steps. The celebration of this feast as a distinct church holiday began in 715. In 543, Emperor Justinian the Great built a church in Constantinople in honor of the Presentation. The feast takes place during the Nativity Fast, and on this day believers take Holy Communion for renewed spiritual strength.

Over time, the date gained additional significance. The Church established it as the Day of the Christian Family, symbolizing the entry of the young Mary into the temple and reminding parents of their responsibility to pass on faith, moral values, and a sense of spiritual duty. The family has long been viewed as the first environment where a child encounters Christianity and Orthodox tradition.

In 1929, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church officially designated the feast as the Day of the Christian Family and Orthodox Christian Youth. The day calls on parents, teachers, and guardians to raise children in piety, obedience, and moral integrity, continuing a legacy that has shaped Bulgarian family life for centuries.