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!