On the 2nd of June Bulgaria honors the memory of Hristo Botev and those who died for Bulgarian freedom.
Every year at exactly 12.00 o'clock the sirens in all cities howl, and all the traffic and all the people on the streets stop and freeze for a minute of silence with bowed heads to pay tribute to Bulgarian heroes who have died for the liberation of Bulgaria!
This day has been celebrated since 1901, when citizens gathered at Okolchitsa peak / the place of death of Hristo Botev / to pay their respect to him and those who died for the Liberation of Bulgaria.
In moments like this I feel proud and glad that I am Bulgarian, that I have chosen to live in Bulgaria.
I do not know if there is another country in the world with such a tradition, and I am proud that our people remember ,protect and honor, because a nation that does not remember its history and its past - has no future.
I remember on that date when I was a child we used to play on the streets and when we heard the sirens sounding we were freezing in a different positions corresponding the moment of our game..
I am glad that now - so many years later, the tradition continues and we pay tribute to the heroes who in the past have built our future with their sacrifice.
We are here now because of them!. And while the one-minute silence lasts, we realize how small and we are and that we do now echoes in the future and determines the lives of our children, the future generations, the whole nation!

