From "Once upon a time - manners and worldview of the Bulgarians"

The Sunday after Easter is Thomas Sunday — named after Thomas — one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to legend, Thomas did not believe in the resurrection of Christ, and therefore the Savior appeared to him a few days later and allowed the apostle Thomas to put his finger into his wounds. That is why the apostle Thomas is also called the Doubter.

The week before Thomas Sunday is filled with many maiden holidays. The biggest is Shrove Tuesday. On this day, maidens make a bride doll from the slippers of a young bride who got married last winter. One slipper is red and the other is yellow. The doll is dressed in a man's shirt, because it is a symbol of the primal image of the bisexual deity, from which, according to our folklore mythology, man originated.

On Thomas Sunday, women re-paint eggs and distribute them to the souls of their deceased loved ones, believing that this will protect them from reincarnation. The day is considered bad and no work is done. Women do not wash, and men do not sow or dig. Milk is not boiled, so as not to "raise" the milk of the animals.

Everyone with the names Toma, Tomislav, Tomislava celebrates their name day.

© 2023 Iliana Dechkova