Every year in spring, the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture is widely celebrated in our country. In 2023, celebrations will take place in many Slavic countries. What are the traditions and peculiarities of this holiday?

The language we speak and write today originated more than a thousand years ago. It was shaped by two preacher brothers from Greece, whose names we have known since school, Cyril and Methodius. It is to them that we and other speakers of Slavic languages should be grateful for the way we speak and write.

Of course, the Slavic languages developed individually, acquiring new rules and forms, and now they are very different from each other. However, if you listen to the language, look at the writing, it is easy to see the common roots of the language spoken by all the Slavs of the world hundreds of years ago.

The roots of the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture go back to Bulgaria. Here, this holiday is a national holiday and has been celebrated since the beginning of the XIX century. It was Bulgaria that played a decisive role in the fate of the spiritual heritage of Cyril and Methodius, and it was here that their students and followers found not only protection but also state support in the late 9^th and 10^th centuries. Later, this lighter and more convenient alphabet, called the Cyrillic alphabet, replaced the Glagolitic alphabet and became the only alphabet used by the southern and eastern Slavs.

The holiday is accompanied by various events: scientific conferences, concerts, festivals and fairs. Native language classes are held in schools to teach children about the contribution of Cyril and Methodius to the language and culture of our country.

The languages of the Slavic group have a thousand-year history, complex geography, and many similarities and differences. Let us tell you some interesting facts about the history of Slavic languages.

The prevailing view in modern scholarship is that the inventors of the Cyrillic alphabet were not Cyril and Methodius. They created an earlier alphabet, the Glagolitic alphabet. And the Cyrillic alphabet was written by their students.

Slavic languages are considered one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. This is because of the intricate grammar and peculiarities of word formation.

Slavic languages also have their own “Esperanto” – the one that is understood by people from different countries about equally well. This is Slovak. Slovakia is geographically located in the center of Eastern Europe, and therefore its language is approximately equally close to Polish and Ukrainian, Czech and Belarusian. In Slovakia, you will probably easily understand bus announcements and street signs.