Abstract: The aim of the paper is to address the phenomenon of anniversary in regard to the cultural conditions that are typical of the period of socialism in South-East Europe. The focus is on a jubilee discourse that was generated for the purposes of state commemorations of SS. Cyril and Methodius, i.e. the inventors of the first Slavic alphabet and literacy. The starting point is the case of People’s Republic of Bulgaria (1946 – 1990), which is perceived as both an example of rewriting the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition under the local conditions of Communist ideology, and a meaningful manifestation of the “culture of jubilee”. The paper discusses the continuity of cultural matrix within the Bulgarian modernity despite the distinct semantic shifts in the Cyrillo-Methodian narrative and suggests a great potential of investigating the phenomena with regard to the past that is shared/contested in terms of different national ideologies. It is suggested that a “contrastive grammar” of competing jubilee discourses and practices would be a promising way of interpreting the Bulgarian-Macedonian confrontations and struggles for primacy that emerged during socialism.

Authors: Drzewiecka, Ewelina

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2024.17.1.122-131

Publication order reference: Associate Professor Ewelina Drzewiecka, PhD.; Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre, 13 Moskovska Street, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7092-3140; SCOPUS Author ID: 57197718873

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2024, vol.: 17, issue: 1, pages: 122-131 (PDF file)

Keywords: CYRIL AND METHODIUS, ANNIVERSARY, SOCIALISM, BULGARIA, MACEDONIA

Language: ENGLISH