Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language (Ukrainian. Ukrainian Literature Day was established by decree of the President of Ukraine in 1997. The date of the holiday was chosen to be the day of honoring the Monk Nestor the Chronicler —, a follower of the creators of Slavic writing, Cyril and Methodius. It was originally celebrated on November 9, but, due to the reform of the church calendar in Ukraine, this Christian holiday has been celebrated on October 27 since 2023, on which the president of the country signed a corresponding decree on July 28, 2023.
It is believed that it is with St. Nestor the Chronicler that the written Ukrainian language begins. There are also suggestions that writing on the territory of Ukraine had several options.
One option can be considered the writing of the Northern Black Sea region, where they used an alphabet identical to Greek or Roman (Latin), and in the eastern regions (especially the Scythian-Sarmatians) they had their own original writing, known in science as Sarmatian signs. These signs were similar to Armenian and Georgian writing.
Anyone who has ever seen the modern Ukrainian alphabet noticed that most of its letters are similar to Greek ones, but among them there are several Slavic signs. It should be noted that along with and at the same time as the Cyrillic alphabet, there was another alphabet known as the Glagolitic alphabet, which had the unusual nature of scrolls.
Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language — is not only a state holiday, but also a church holiday. The first work in modern Ukrainian that corresponds to Byzantine primary sources was called an akathist by the Orthodox to the Mother of God of Kholmskaya.
Traditionally, a number of solemn and festive events are timed to coincide with the Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language, including: laying flowers at the monument to Nestor the Chronicler, awarding the best Ukrainian writers and popularizers of the Ukrainian word, as well as publishing houses producing literature in the Ukrainian language, and others.