Bulgaria marks National Revival Leaders' Day today, 1 November. It honours writers, educators and fighters for national liberation, the people who kept the nation's spiritual values and morals alive through the centuries.
They include Joasaph of Bdin, Gregory Tsamblak, Konstantin Kostenechki, Vladislav the Grammarian, Father Peyo, Matey the Grammarian, St John of Rila and Neofit Bozveli. The brothers Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov, Georgi S. Rakovski, Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, Ivan Vazov, Stefan Karadzha, Hadzhi Dimitar, Lyuben Karavelov and Dobri Chintulov are also on the list, along with hundreds of others who worked to raise national awareness and Bulgarian identity.
The first celebration was held in Plovdiv in 1909.
In 1922, education minister Stoyan Omarchevski proposed making 1 November a holiday for the National Revival Leaders. He was a minister in the Stamboliyski government from 1920 to 1923 and is linked with reforms in secondary and higher education. He introduced free, compulsory primary schooling for seven years and began building new schools. In two years their number rose from 561 to 1,676.
On 1 November 1923, Tsar Boris III made the day a national holiday by decree, in memory of Bulgarians who had served the nation.
The holiday was banned in 1945. On 28 October 1992, the 36th National Assembly passed a law amending the Labour Code. It restored the celebration and made National Revival Leaders' Day an official holiday. Since then, no classes have been held on the day at any educational institution in the country.