Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Cyril and Methodius Day 2016

SLAVONIC PHILOLOGY: Bulgaria marks Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (FOCUS News Agency).
Sofia. On May 24 Bulgaria celebrates Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day.

The holiday, which commemorates the deed of Saints Cyril and Methodius, was first marked in the southern city of Plovdiv in 1851 at the initiative of the Bulgarian linguist, folklorist and writer Nayden Gerov. The capital Sofia celebrated the holiday in 1859 for the first time. After Bulgaria’s Liberation the first commemoration was held on May 11, 1880.

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Background on Saints Cyril and Methodius, their foundational work on making Old Church Slavonic a literary language, why their day is celebrated multiple times in the year, and why PaleoJudaica cares about any of this, is here and here with many links.