In the Eastern Orthodox Church, this day is dedicated to Saint Sava, who dedicated his life to the service of God and built several monasteries and hospitals with his inheritance.
In Bulgarian traditions, Sava is a woman - a saint, the sister of Barbara and Nicholas, the patron saint of the plague, although in some parts of the country the holiday is celebrated as that of a saint - a man, the patron saint of wolves (wolf shepherd).
In some regions, Savinden is also celebrated in honor of the dead. Women prepare boiled wheat and distribute it at the cemetery for a memorial service.
Before sunrise, women who cannot conceive sift flour through an inverted sieve. And the oldest woman in the house says: "Turn, child, the sieve, so that your belly turns." and they believe that after distributing the kneaded and baked ritual bread at a crossroads, she will have a child within the year.
For health and fertility, women also distribute loaves. At the same time, the rituals "protect" the owners from the harmful effects of evil forces.
Mythology presents St. Sava as the brother of St. Barbara (venerated the day before him) and of St. Nicholas (venerated the day after him). Saint Sava in folk beliefs is the better one, he always follows Barbara and asks her not to release icy grains on the fields. The two prepare the feast of St. Nicholas, which is why it is said: "Barbara boils, Sava bakes (kneads), Nicholas feasts".
On December 5th, the following celebrate their name days: Elisaveta, Sava, Savina, Sabi, Sabka, Sabotin, Sabotina, Slavka, Slavomir, Slavcho, Safka, Slavi, Svetoslav, Svetoslava.