Sofia, January 14 (BTA) - Roma people in Bulgaria celebrate one of their biggest holidays, the Roma New Year, on January 14. The day is locally known as Vassilitsa or Bango Vassilii (the Lame Vasil).

Bango Vassilii is celebrated as the patron of Roma people.

The celebration of Vassilitsa goes back to several Roma legends where Bango Vassilli is a defender of the Roma. He rebuilt a bridge which was used by Roma people and was destroyed by the Devil. In other legends, he is a lame shepherd who saved a Roma child from drowning or offered shelter to a Roma man running from enemy. In others, he is a white-bearded saint who saved all Roma people from drowning in a tempestuous sea: he sent them a flock of geese and they clutched onto them to reach the shore.

It is a family holiday. The traditional festive meal - the dinner in the night between January 13 and 14 - is either a goose or a rooster. The house remains locked up until midnight on January 13 to keep good luck at home. Only after New Year's Eve do people go visiting family and friends. 

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