SOFIA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarians on Thursday held processions, exhibitions and concerts throughout the country and abroad, celebrating the Day of Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture and of Slavonic Alphabet.
Traditionally, the key event in Bulgaria was held in front of the National Library in Sofia, at the monument of the brothers Cyril and Methodius who in 855 invented the first alphabet for Slavic languages.
The chorus of the National Music School sang the hymn of Bulgarian enlightenment, the Guard Brass Band played the national anthem, two children recited the poem "I am a Bulgarian child". Wreaths and flowers were laid by thousands of people including the country's President Rumen Radev.
Addressing the ceremony, Radev said all Bulgarians have had a happy fate: their language. "This language in which they think, love, discover, dream," Radev said.
Yordanka Fandakova, mayor of Sofia, echoed that education is a cause that could unite the nation's energy and aspirations.
