Zamenhof Day

Zamenhof Day
Cake at a Zamenhof Day celebration in Nova Scotia, Canada, 2019
Official nameZamenhofa Tago (Esperanto)
Also calledEsperanto Literature Day,
Esperanto Day,
Zamenhof's Birthday,
Book Day
Observed byInternational Esperanto community
TypeCultural holiday
Date15 December
Next time15 December 2024 (2024-12-15)
Frequencyannual

Zamenhof Day (Esperanto: Zamenhofa Tago, Polish: Dzień Zamenhofa), also called Esperanto Book Day,[1] is celebrated on 15 December, the birthday of Esperanto creator L. L. Zamenhof.[2] It is the most widely celebrated day in Esperanto culture.[3] On this day, Esperantists hold information sessions and cultural gatherings to promote literature in Esperanto.[1]

The history of celebrating Esperanto on Zamenhof's birthday can be traced back to 17 December 1878, when at a birthday party for his 19th birthday he presented to his friends his Lingwe uniwersala, the first version of his international language.[4][5] By 1887, this language had evolved into what is now recognized as Esperanto when he published the Unua Libro. December 15 previously used to be also known as Esperanto Day,[6] but that is now celebrated on 26 July, the day Unua Libro was published.[7] As of 1927 onwards, December 15 is celebrated within the Esperanto movement as Esperanto Book Day as it is customary to purchase a new book on Esperanto on that occasion.[8][9]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference UEA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Birth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Pri la 145-a Zamenhofa tago at China Radio International
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Boulton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ExactDateDiscussion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference EsperantoDay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference UEAPub was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference PeoplesWorld was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference EuropeanStudiesBlog was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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