For the first time the day March 3rd was celebrated back in 1880 as the second anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria. The day was not commemorated during the communist regime… The day was declared Bulgaria’s National Day by a Paliament’s decree dated March 5th, 1990.
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“Shipka stands up as the epitome of Bulgaria’s Liberation - the liberation that did not come as a gift, it was fought for and deserved… In our 13 centuries of existence, 7 were spent in slavery. But the right to have history of our own has always been interwoven in our spirit. There have always been three sacred items throughout times: Origin – royal and ancient, Faith – worshiping the son of God and the love of forgiveness, Language – to whisper prayers, to sing rebellious songs in… Our love for freedom created the rebellious bonfires of Chiprovtsi, Batak, Perushtitsa, the sacred places of Kukrina Inn, Lovetch, Panagyurishte, and the great names of Paisii, Rakovski, Levski, Botev, Kableshkov, Volov, Benkovski and many others..."