Day of Belarusian Written Language
Logo of the Belarusian Written Language Day
Day of Belarusian Written Language is an annual holiday that is marked on the first Sunday of September.
The holiday is intended to demonstrate the unity of the Belarusian written word and the history and culture of the Belarusian people, and to show the development of the written language and book publishing in Belarus.
Following the tradition, Day of Belarusian Written Language is celebrated in the cities which are considered cultural, scientific and literature centers of the country.
2012 was declared Year of Book in Belarus.
Timeline
Day of Belarusian Written Language was first celebrated in the ancient city of Polotsk in 1994.
Later on, the celebrations were held in the country’s historically significant cultural centers such as Turov, Novogrudok, Nesvizh, Orsha, Pinsk, Zaslavl, Mstislavl, Mir, Kamenets, Postavy, Shklov, Borisov, Smorgon, Khoiniki, Gantsevichi, Glubokoe, Bykhov, Zaslavl, Shchuchin, Rogachev, Polotsk.
In 2015 a new Belarus' literary capital Shchuchin, Grodno Oblast, hosted the 22nd Day of Belarusian Written Language.
In 2016 the traditional celebrations of the Day of Belarussian Written Language was held in Rogachev, Gomel Oblast.
In 2017, the capital of the festival, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian book printing, was ancient Polotsk, the birthplace of the Belarus first printer and enlightener Francysk Skaryna.
In 2018, the 25th edition of Belarusian Written Language Day was marked in Ivanovo, Brest Oblast, with My Native Land being a theme line of the celebrations.
In 2019, the Belarusian Written Language Day was celebrated in Slonim, Grodno Oblast, one of Belarus’ oldest cultural and religious centers.
In 2020 the Belarusian Written Language Day took place in Belynichi, Mogilev Oblast – a place with great history and an unusual sacred fate.
In 2021 the capital city of the Belarusian Written Language Day was the ancient town of Kopyl, Minsk Oblast. It is kind of a unique literature center of the country since over 50 prominent Belarusian writers and poets came from that area.
In 2022 the Belarusian Written Language Day was hosted by the town of Dobrush, which was first mentioned in the 16th century. Belarus’ first paper mill (1870) was founded there as well as a chinaware plant. The Belarusian classicist, writer, scriptwriter and playwright Ivan Shamyakin is a famous native of the area.
In 2023 celebrations of the Belarusian Written Language Day was centered in Gorodok, Vitebsk Oblast. Konstantin Verenitsyn – the author of the famous poem Taras na Parnase [Taras on Mount Parnassus], the most popular work of the national literature of the 19th century – was born in this land.
In 2024 Belarusian Written Language Day took place in Ivatsevichi, Brest Oblast. Ivatsevichi has been the birthplace of the famous writer and figure of the national liberation movement of Western Belarus Filipp Pestrak and the famous journalist and master of lyrical prose Yaroslav Parkhuto. There are some iconic landmarks not far from Ivatsevichi: palace of the Puslovskys in Kossovo and the museum-estate of Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
The historic city of Lida in Grodno Oblast hosted the 2025 Belarusian Written Language Day celebrations. This ancient town boasts the well-preserved 14th century Lida Castle - a unique defensive fortress that served as both one of the first stone castles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on Belarusian lands and the architectural prototype for the world-famous Mir Castle, constructed two centuries later by Lida's governor Yuri Ilyinich. The Lida area has produced numerous luminaries of Belarusian culture, including poetess Danuta Bichel-Zagnetova, writer Viktor Pravdin, and many others. Among the most notable figures is Valentin Tavlai, a gifted poet, literary scholar, and participant in West Belarus' national liberation movement who later served as an intelligence operative and leader of an anti-fascist resistance network during the Nazi occupation. Valentin Tavlai attended school in Lida and worked at local newspapers before his life was tragically cut short at age 33. Today, the Valentin Tavlai House, a branch of the Lida State Historical and Art Museum, preserves his legacy. As part of the 2025 Belarusian Written Language Day celebrations, a new monument was unveiled to honor the writer and dedicated patriot.
In 2026, the town of Kostyukovichi (Mogilev Oblast) will host the Belarusian Written Language Day (33rd edition). This region is the homeland of a whole galaxy of national literature stars: Arkady Kuleshov, Ivan Chigrinov, Vasily Khomchenko, Aleksei Rusetsky, Ales Pismenkov, and others. The renovated local history museum will open new exhibitions, including one dedicated to famous literary figures from the region. Visitors will be able to see archival materials, personal belongings, manuscripts, and typewritten texts, many of which will be displayed for the first time. Among the unique exhibits is Ivan Chigrinov's typewritten manuscript with notes prepared for a session of the UN General Assembly. A new sculptural composition “Ales and Alesya” inspired by Arkady Kuleshov's famous poem “Farewell, you who woke my heart, my dear” will be unveiled on the city's central square. The thematic highlight of the festival will be unique examples of Belarusian church book printing: each region will present its finest specimens, as the holiday is celebrated jointly with the Orthodox Church.
Events on Day of Belarusian Written Language
The participants and guests of the celebrations are given a unique chance to get familiar with the new books and meet national and foreign writers, poets, journalists and publishers. By tradition Day of Belarusian Written Language includes an award ceremony of the winners of the best literary work contest, a science-to-practice conference, and many more interesting events.
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