Bulgaria marks national day of alphabet and culture

Every year on 24th of May, Bulgaria celebrates the day of the Bulgarian enlightenment and culture and the creation of the Slavonic alphabet by the two brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The Holiday of Letters, as it is also known in Bulgaria, is one of the most loved of all holidays. It is usually marked with festivities across the country. Local schools and cultural centres organise various events to honour the accomplishments of the two brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, including laying wreaths to monuments of the two saints, concerts and processions in the main streets of Bulgarian cities and towns.

This year, there will be no celebratory processions due to the coronavirus epidemic situation. Numerous initiatives, mostly online, will mark the Day of the Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture.

The two brothers Cyril and Methodius created the alphabet in the IX century. They are both regarded as the country’s patrons of education and culture. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe.

The Cyrillic alphabet is used today in 12 countries in Eastern Europe and Northern and Central Asia, which are Slavic countries, as well as in non-Slavic countries, such as Mongolia which adopted the Cyrillic alphabet in the 1940s.