May 24 – the brightest celebration of the spirit, which sows the seeds of knowledge

On this day in Bulgaria, the national holiday of education, culture, and the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet by Saints Cyril and Methodius, also known as the Salonica Brothers, is celebrated. In 855, Cyril and Methodius created the Glagolitic alphabet in the Byzantine Polychron Monastery in the Bithynia region of Asia Minor, where they translated sacred books. After that, they undertook to popularize Christianity among the Slavic-speaking peoples.

Their disciples Clement, Naum, Sava, Gorazd, and Angelarius continued their work. They received a warm welcome in Bulgaria from Prince Boris in the ninth century, and the Cyrillic alphabet, which replaced Glagolitic, was created in the Preslav Literary School. Clement of Ohrid is considered its creator, and it was named in honor of Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher.

Day of Bulgarian Writing and Culture

As a day of enlightenment, the holiday was first celebrated in Plovdiv in 1851, when a celebration and student procession were organized at the diocesan school „St. St. Cyril and Methodius“ on the initiative of Nayden Gerov. In 1856, Yoakim Gruev proposed that the day of Cyril and Methodius be celebrated as a holiday for Bulgarian students.

Happy Holiday of Letters and Word

At the end of 1968, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church introduced the so-called New Julian Calendar as its liturgical calendar. After that, the Day of Cyril and Methodius is celebrated by the church on May 11.

According to the established tradition, the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavic Writing, on which the two brothers are also honored, remains on May 24.

May 24 was declared an official holiday of Bulgaria by a decision of the National Assembly on March 30, 1990.

The anthem of the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture – „March, O Revived People“, was written in 1892. The author of the text is Stoyan Mihaylovski, who first published it in the magazine „Misal“.

Photos © BGNES