Do you know on which date Vasil Levski was hanged? The answer will surprise you

On what date was Vasil Levski hanged?

One of the few dates from our native history that Bulgarians massively revere, empathize with and know is February 19 – the day Vasil Levski was hanged. It turns out we don’t know her right. And the reason for the error is not in the historical data or in a new reading of history. The reason is purely mathematical and has to do with… incorrect counting.

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On what date was Vasil Levski hanged? The correct date is February 18. We learn why the mistake occurred from Stanka Dimitrova – historian and chairman of the all-Bulgarian committee “Vasil Levski”. According to the old style, the date on which the Apostle of Liberty was hanged is February 6. During Bulgaria’s transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, a technical error was made and instead of adding 13 days, including February 6, the counting started from February 7 and the date of Vasil Levski’s hanging was entered as February 19 – that is, a day later from the correct date. Year after year, wreath after wreath, word after word, the date February 19 merges with our traditions to such an extent that few today know that it is wrong and that the correct answer to the question of which date Vasil Levski was hanged is February 18.

Bulgarians are used to honoring the Apostle on February 19, and in a few cities, such as his hometown of Karlovo, the offering of flowers and wreaths is on the correct date – February 18, in a new style. Veliko Tarnovo is another city where the celebrations are also on February 18. However, many historians note with regret that cities honoring the exact date are the exception, and hope that this will change and that the correct date will be more widely recognized.

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Why is Levski’s hanging still celebrated on the wrong date?

Even though a number of letters to institutions were sent by the all-Bulgarian committee “Vasil Levski” with a call to change the date on which the hanging of the Apostle is celebrated, even though the mistake was explained and clear and even though the institutions know for sure on which date Vasil was hanged Levski, no change has been made and the mass celebrations are on the wrong date – February 19. Perhaps this is because the date February 19 has acquired citizenship, and traditions are difficult to bend and change, even when the error is visible and clear. Moreover, the date is hardly what is most important. More important are the living memory and the still living gratitude of the generations to the Apostle, and they do not depend on accounts, calendars, old and new styles and on dates – they are that feeling of holiness and worship in the minute that confronts us in face with the Levski monument with flowers in our hands.