The first celebration of the Day of the Holy Brothers, St.Cyril and St.Methodius, was organized by the eminent Plovdiv figure Nayden Gerov in 1851, in the city of Plovdiv. Today, May 11th is celebrated nationwide as the church feast day of the holy Brothers.
Eversince the earliest Bulgarian manuscript books kept until today, the memory of the Holy Brothers has been preserved and respected - February 14th as the day of St.Cyril and April 6th as the day of St.Methodius. The earliest record of May 11th as their common feast day is dated from the 12th century. May 11th has been preserved as a date of respecting the Holy Brothers and in the Bulgarian revival period turned into a civil glorification and an expression of the spiritual aspirations of the Bulgarian nation for religious and political independence, enlightenment and national uprise.
Ever since 1857, that day has started being celebrated first in Plovdiv, Constantinople, Shumen and Lom, and later in the whole of the country.
The picture above: The icon of the Holy Brothers St.Cyril and St.Methodius by the eminent Bulgarian artist Ivan D. Dospevsky, the Samokov school of art, 1838. Kept in the Samokov Town Museum.