The 8th of June, which is supposedly the birth date of Primož Trubar, is commemorated as Primož Trubar Day on a national level. The idea to turn it into a state holiday was put forward by the Trieste-based author Boris Pahor in 2008, when we celebrated 500 years of Trubar’s birth. He proposed the idea to the then president of the Slovene Pen Centre, Tone Peršak, who then took it to the National Assembly. The deputy group of the Social Democrats (SD) put together the proposal, which was adopted by the National Assembly in June 2010. This year's Primož Trubar Day coincides with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation movement.
The words of God in people's languages
Primož Trubar (1508-1586) was born in Rašica, in Velike Lašče. He is one of the central figures of Slovenia's culture and history. As a priest he served on the territories of Slovenia and Germany. As a follower of the teachings of Martin Luther he spread the Protestant faith. The idea of the Reformation movement was to have religious books written in people's languages. That is why he started writing books in Slovene language. The translating of religious books into the languages of the faithful played an important role in the development of literature in folk languages, including Slovene literature. The first Slovene book, Primož Trubar's Catechismus, was written during the Reformation movement. It turned Slovene into a literary language.
P. G., MMC; translated by K. J.