Babinden in Varna 2027: midwives' day on 8 and 21 January

Babinden, Bulgaria’s day of midwives, falls on Friday 8 January 2027, and Thursday 21 January 2027 is the Day of Maternity Care, when maternity wards honour their midwives and doctors. Both days celebrate the “baba”, the village midwife who helped women give birth. Neither is a day off, and as of October 2026 no Varna programme for 2027 had been announced.

Why are there two dates?

Babinden was first celebrated on 21 January. In 1968 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church changed its calendar, and church feasts moved 13 days earlier. BNR notes that Babinden moved with them, to 8 January. But 21 January kept a role of its own. BNT reports that in 1951 the National Assembly made it the Day of Maternity Care, for midwives, obstetricians and gynaecologists. So today:

• 8 January: the folk and church feast, celebrated in families and villages.
• 21 January: the professional day, marked mainly in hospitals and medical schools.

What is the “polivane” ritual?

“Polivane” means “pouring”. Bulgarian Wikipedia describes the old custom. At dawn, young mothers brought fresh water with basil or geranium (zdravets) to the midwife who had delivered their babies that year. They poured it over her hands and gave her a towel, plus shirts, socks or cloth. The midwife tied red and white thread to the children’s wrists for health, and the women shared a meal with bread, chicken and wine or rakia. Men were traditionally not admitted to the women’s ritual, although in some villages they later joined the festive procession.

How do hospitals and the Medical University mark it?

On 21 January many maternity wards repeat the ritual with their own staff. BTA, for example, photographed the hand-washing of doctors, midwives and nurses at a hospital in Stara Zagora on 21 January 2026. In Varna, the Medical University reported in 2015 how midwifery students in folk costume congratulated teachers and the obstetrics hospitals’ staff. On the same day in 2026, the city’s Museum of the History of Medicine told BTA about the work of the old midwives and of Bulgaria’s first qualified practising midwife.

What it means for Varna in 2027

There is no confirmed public event yet. If you want to thank your own midwife or doctor, 21 January is the day; for maternity and emergency care in the city, see hospitals and emergency care in Varna. Babinden comes two days after Jordanovden in Varna, and the full month is in Varna events in January 2027. For days off, check Bulgaria’s public holidays in 2027. We will add any announced events here.