site.btaBulgaria Celebrates International Children's Day

A series of events across the country mark June 1, the international Children's day.

The Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) have organized an attraction retro trip on the route Sofia - Pernik - Sofia, the BDZ press centre reported. The train will be pulled by a steam locomotive known as Baba Metsa [Granny Bear, an anthropomorphic bear from Bulgarian fairy tales].

The Land Forces, Air Force, Navy, Joint Forces Command Bulgaria, and 68th Special Forces Brigade will hold open days, the Ministry of Defence reported.

Studentski Grad borough in Sofia will become an arena of sport, solidarity and social responsibility, the National Assembly of Students' Councils of the Republic of Bulgaria said. An initiative, organized in cooperation with the Bulgarian Red Cross, unites the efforts of citizens and coaches to support children undergoing severe medical treatment.

Varna, on the Black Sea, will celebrate June 1 with a bicycle race for children aged 2 to 10, with music, dancing and a parade of street artists on stilts, Varna Municipality said.

All children aged 4 to 18 can use public transport in Stara Zagora, South Central Bulgaria, for free on Sunday. They can also visit the Stara Zagora Zoo for free.

Celebrations will also be held in Samokov, Sandanski, and Sliven, among others.

In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Since 1950, it has been celebrated on June 1 in many countries that were part of the Eastern Bloc.

In Bulgaria, Children's Day was celebrated according to a decree of King Boris III issued in 1927, according to which the day was to be celebrated on the second Sunday after Easter. That date at the time was May 8. When King Boris III married Giovanna of Savoy, she became the patron of the holiday.