Bulgaria April Rebel flag

National flags suitable for both outdoor and indoor use.

Made of special polyester material with increased UV and weather resistance.

Intense and vivid colors, with excellent front/rear visibility.

Polyester Material:

• 100% polyester, weight 110 gr/m2
• The material is treated as fire-resistant class B

The material is printed using the latest generation technologies with water-based ecological ink.

The edges are finished with a double perimeter hem, and in the attachment part there may be:

• pylon/handle pocket
• reinforced tape and plastic carabiners, for attaching to the mast
• Fasteners: metal grommets/eyelets

On April 22, 1876, the flag of the April Uprising was consecrated in Panagyurishte. It was made by Raina Knyagina. Raina Futekova was only 20 years old, head teacher at the Girls' School in Panagyurishte, when Georgi Benkovski offered her to sew the flag of the April Uprising.

On April 22, Raina carries the flag in the procession in Panagyurishte, where Pope Grujo and other priests solemnly consecrate it. It was after that day that the teacher received the nickname Raina Knyaginya.

The lion on the flag was drawn by Stoyan Karaleev (Banenetsa) based on the pattern of the lion cub printed on the cover of the Statute of the Central Committee, and the letters were written by Ivancho Zografa. In addition to the inscription "Freedom or death" in the lower edge there are also 2 letters - "P" and "O" (for "Panagyur district").

On April 22, Raina Futekova sewed on him tassels prepared during the night. The dimensions of the flag are 2 by 1.5 m, it has 2 faces and is trimmed with a tinsel stripe.

It is consecrated by priests from the city and surrounding villages. Raina describes the procession after the consecration of the flag as follows:

"On the second day of freedom, the flag was completed. Then, at the request of the citizens, I was to take him in hand, gird on sword and revolver, and mount a chosen horse, to pass through the whole city and announce to the people assembled in the streets that the Turkish yoke of five centuries had been cast off for ever. It was the most solemn day of our short-lived freedom. White-haired old men, together with young children, followed me everywhere, singing favorite folk songs. Women, maidens, and old men threw upon us so many fragrant and colorful bouquets that the whole road was covered with them like a magnificent carpet. The shouts of “Hurray!” and “Long live!” were endless. This solemn procession continued into the evening.'

For the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the April Uprising, Princess Raina sewed 3 new flags - copies of the original. Only 2 of them have been preserved - exhibited today in the Military History Museum in Sofia and in her native house in Panagyurishte), the third copy burned during the bombing of Sofia in the Second World War.

Prof. Kostadin Nushev, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at the Faculty of Theology of SU, talks about the tradition of consecrating battle flags in Bulgaria in "Our Day".

"In the Bulgarian church tradition, the consecration of battle flags is considered to have started in the Middle Ages during the time of King Simeon the Great, dating back even earlier to the declaration of Christianity as a free and permitted religion by Emperor Constantine the Great.

We know from church history that in 313, after his victory, over the other pretenders to the imperial throne who were persecutors of Christianity, the sign of the cross appeared and then throughout Christian, Roman history in the East and in the West. This sign, this sign in the Church Slavonic language, which also means a banner, a sign, on the cross is placed on the banners, the so-called "banners," also on military shields. And this tradition of consecrating battle flags begins. From the Christian point of view, it is the sacred image of the cross that Christians raise as a banner in their struggle when it is just.'

"In the same way, it is also in the Bulgarian church and civil history, preserved as a ceremony and as a civil ritual, which also has church elements."

source: BNR