If a summer storm rolls over your bit of Bulgaria today, the old folk explanation is not a low-pressure front off the Black Sea. It is Iliya, up in his golden chariot, chasing a dragon across the sky. Welcome to Iliyovden (ee-lee-YOV-den), St Elijah's Day, one of the busiest name days in the Bulgarian calendar and the day the country's storm saint takes charge of the weather.
What happened on this day
20 July is the feast of the prophet Elijah, known here as Iliya, and in Bulgarian folklore he is far more than an Old Testament figure. He is Iliya the Thunderer, master of the summer sky: the clouds, the rain, the hail and, above all, the thunder. When the Slavs were Christianised, the thunder-god Perun did not so much disappear as change his name badge. Elijah, who in scripture calls down fire and rain from heaven, inherited Perun's job description almost intact, which is why a Christian saint ended up in charge of hailstorms.
The folklore is wonderfully specific. Iliya rides the heavens in a fiery chariot, chasing a dragon that would otherwise eat the ripening wheat, and the rumble you hear is the wheels. Villages once marked the day by sacrificing the old "father rooster" and baking ritual loaves, the bogovitsa, dedicated to the saint. The day is also called "high summer", the hinge of the season when, tradition says, the weather turns. Bulgarians will tell you, only half joking, that it usually does.
The name carries real historical weight too. The Ilinden Uprising of 1903, the great revolt against Ottoman rule organised by the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation, was deliberately launched on St Elijah's Day, 2 August by the new calendar, which was 20 July on the old Julian one. "Ilinden" simply means Elijah's Day. That is why, if you have ever wondered why so many Bulgarian squares, streets and North Macedonian institutions are called Ilinden, today is your answer.
Today's name days
This is a big one, so get the greeting ready: честит имен ден (chess-TEET ee-MEN den), happy name day.
Iliya leads the male names. The obvious cultural anchor is Iliya Beshkov (1901 to 1958), the caricaturist they called the "Bulgarian Daumier", a professor at the National Academy of Fine Art in Sofia whose political cartoons were sharp enough to survive several changes of regime and still sting. If you know one Iliya, know him.
Iliana carries the female side, and here the anchor is Iliana Raeva, one of the "Golden Girls" who made Bulgaria a rhythmic-gymnastics superpower in the 1980s. At the 1980 European Championships in Amsterdam she swept gold in the all-around, rope, hoop and clubs. Rhythmic gymnastics holds a place in Bulgarian affection close to what the British reserve for Olympic rowing: a sport the nation is quietly, seriously good at.
Spare a thought too for anyone named Iskra, which simply means "spark". On the thunder saint's own day, that is a nice bit of accidental poetry.
Plenty of other forms celebrate today: Ilian, Ilin, Ilina, Ilinda, Ilinka, Ilko, Ilcho, Ilka, Licho, Lina and Yulia among them. The full list and its variants live in our Bulgarian name-days guide.
Here is the bit that catches Brits out. A name day is not a private birthday. On a big one like this the celebrant keeps open house: friends, neighbours and colleagues simply turn up, no invitation required. The single rule you must not break is never arrive empty-handed. Cake, banitsa, a bottle of wine or chocolates all work; flowers are fine for the women, but buy them in odd numbers, because even-numbered bouquets are for funerals.
Why this matters for British expats
Two things. First, cultural literacy: once you know Iliya is the storm saint, the muttered "Iliya's cross about something" you hear when the sky darkens stops being a mystery, and every Ilinden street sign clicks into place. Second, it is genuinely useful. If a Bulgarian friend or colleague is called Iliya or Iliana, a two-word greeting and a small gift today will land far better than it has any right to.
There is a nice Shumen angle to the storm saint. His chapels traditionally sit on high ground, because he took over the hilltops the old thunder-god once ruled, and Shumen has plenty of high ground: the plateau above the city, crowned by the Founders of the Bulgarian State monument, is exactly the sort of place the tradition favours. Down in the city, any Iliya marking the day will likely light a candle at the Holy Ascension or the Holy Three Saints church.
As for the weather itself, "high summer" is not just folklore. Late July really is peak storm season here, so if you are planning a hike or a coast trip, our weather guide is worth a glance before you set off. Iliya, apparently, is watching.
Sources and further reading
The folklore and the saint's-day detail here draw on the Bulgarian Wikipedia entry on Ilinden and the standard Bulgarian name-days calendar, with the historical thread resting on the well-documented record of the 1903 uprising. For the greeting itself, our phrasebook has the pronunciation.