On May 24, Bulgaria marks the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slav Letters, celebrating the mission of the Sts Cyril and Methodius. President Parvanov laid flowers at the the monument of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Sofia where the procession in celebration of May 24 ended. Parvanov and his spouse will host the traditional reception on the occasion of May 24 at the National Museum of History in Boyana.

Last year after the president's speech in front of the monument Pope John Paul II arrived in his mobile, and under the sounds of the hymn of May 24 "Vurvi narode vuzrodeni" a wreath was placed on his behalf at the feet of the bronze statue of Sts Cyril and Methodius. Bulgarian people marked then 145 years since the first national celebration of the two Holy Saints Sts Cyril and Methodius, who were pronounced by the Pope divine patrons of Europe in 1980.

Days like May 24 enhance the national self-confidence, President Georgi Purvanov said before journalists later on Saturday. "This is based on the fact that we have made our contribution to the world: letters and culture that are in the core of the European one," the President stated.

A series of celebrations have been organised across Bulgaria to commemorate the day.