Saints Cyril and Methodius Day
June 8th, 2007
24th May is a holiday, usually celebrated in countries which observe Eastern Orthodox tradition. It commemorates the creation of the Slavic Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets by the brothers Cyril and Methodius. The celebration also commemorates the introduction of literacy and the preaching of the gospels in the Slavonic language by the brothers.
According to old Bulgarian chronicles, the day of the holy brothers used to be celebrated ecclesiastically as early as XI Century. The first recorded secular celebration of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Day as the “Day of the Bulgarian script” was held in the Bulgarian town of Shumen on May 22, 1803.
Nowadays, the day is celebrated as a public holiday in Bulgaria and is known as the Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Literature Day, a national holiday celebrating Bulgarian culture and literature as well as the alphabet. It is also known as Alphabet, Culture, and Education Day.
