This holiday commemorates the death of France Prešeren (1800 - 1849), the Slovenian poet who is regarded as the greatest Slovene classical author. The day also serves as a time to reflect on all Slovene cultural achievements. Prešeren's Day is marked with cultural festivals and remembrance services and school excursions to culturally significant institutions. Most public museums and galleries in Slovenia will have free entry.

During 2nd World War, Slovene artists had been repressed and were forbidden from expressing themselves while Slovenia was occupied. This led to the anniversary of Prešeren's death becoming a focal point for remembering Slovenian culture. After the end of the war, the day was first proclaimed as a cultural holiday in 1945. It was a public holiday during the era of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia within the SFR Yugoslavia but was declared a work-free holiday only in 1991, the year the country declared independence.

France Prešeren was noted for his sonnets and his poem Zdravljica (A Toast) was adopted as Slovenia's national anthem. Please find the Slovenian anthem with English subtitles here.

SGBN's Associated Member, the Canadian Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (CSCC) and Slovenian Community in Canada (Slovenski Dom Toronto) will pay a respect to this day by organising an online seminar titled "History of Slovenian Culture in Canada" by Dr. Tone Kacinik. This insightful presentation will shed light on the profound impact of Slovenian culture on the Canadian landscape.

We warmly extend this invitation to all Slovenians, both near and far, to join us in commemorating Prešeren's Day.

You can view the seminar by following this YouTube link: