This holiday commemorates the death of France Prešeren (1800 – 1849), a Slovene 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 was noted for his sonnets and his poem Zdravljica (A Toast) was adopted as Slovenia’s national anthem.
During World war II, 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.