Bulgaria is the country that gave a writing system to half of Eastern Europe. We mention it modestly, as is proper, but at least once a year, on 24 May, modesty goes on holiday.
Where Cyrillic comes from
In 863 the brothers Cyril and Methodius created Glagolitic (глаголица) – a beautiful but complicated alphabet, better suited to calligraphers than to scribes in a hurry. Their disciples Clement, Naum, Angelarius, Gorazd and Sava came to Bulgaria after 886. There, in the Preslav Literary School, Cyrillic (кирилица) took shape. It borrowed Greek letters for everything it could, and Glagolitic signs for the sounds the Greeks did not have.
- Ohrid School – Clement of Ohrid and about 3,500 students. Sounds like a modern university, only without the parking problem.
- Preslav School – John the Exarch, Constantine of Preslav, Chernorizets Hrabar (“Hrabar the Monk”). The last of these wrote “On the Letters” (“За буквите”), the first defence of the Slavic script.
Today's 30 letters
А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ь Ю Я
The last major spelling reform dates from 1945. That was when ѣ (yat) and ѫ (the “big yus”, a nasal vowel) were dropped, and with them half of the reasons schoolchildren hated dictation.
- Щ is read as “sht”, not “shch” as in Russian. If someone asks you for “шчастие” (shchastie, happiness), they are not from around here.
- Ъ is a real vowel (it sounds like the “a” in English about), not a silent decoration.
- Ь only appears before “о”: шофьор (shofyór, driver), Гьоте (Goethe), синьо (sínyo, blue).
When Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, Cyrillic became the EU's third official alphabet, after Latin and Greek. That is why euro banknotes also say ЕВРО. Since 1 January 2026 those same banknotes are our money too, so the circle is closed.
24 May
The Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture, is perhaps the only holiday on which the whole country celebrates with flowers rather than barbecue. Pupils carry wreaths and bouquets, while teachers pretend not to notice who copied from whom on the last test.