Sun, Nov 08 2009
Hoping for a happy and long-lived marriage, 100 couples in Sofia will say `I do' on the date that will pass through our life only once, like many others for that matter, but the line-up of the triple eight is believed to bring prosperity and luck.
Even the Beijing Olympics are set to open on that day, at 8.08.08 pm local time. In Chinese folklore, the number 8 is expected to bring fortune and wealth.
Some of the couples applied as early as last year to have the marriage ceremony on August 8. According to the manager of one of Sofia's ritual centres, the number of people willing to tie the knot on that day is many times greater compared to any other day of the year. An average of 6000 marriage licenses are issued a year in Sofia alone.
However, the marrying frenzy recurs every time there is a fateful arrangement of digits expected to bring upon earthly bliss.
Last year, the largest Bulgarian cities experienced the same anxiety as one couple after another were entering the ritual centres to get married on 07.07.07. In Sofia, there were 170 marriage ceremonies performed, 27 in Bourgas, 59 in Plovdiv and only 7 in Veliko Tarnovo. Not that there weren't more enthusiasts ready to engage in a happy life together, there just wasn't enough restaurants to accommodate the festivities.
Bright colours, individual care and a rounded programme of extracurricular activities make this Lozenets-based kindergarten one of Sofia’s best
The International Women's Club (IWC) assists foreigners’ wives and supports worthy causes through events like its annual festive season charity bazaar
A week-long programme of exhibitions and debates stimulates awareness of man’s contribution to the environment
A visiting Austrian exhibition displays 12 completed and functioning residential buildings – and the people who live there
Heavy traffic on the Sofia-Vienna musical route