President: Public Holidays Belong to All and Should Not Divide Us

Bratislava, 5 July (TASR) - Public holidays shouldn't be appropriated by anyone, as they belong to everyone, stated President Peter Pellegrini in his speech at the Devin Castle during Saturday's national celebrations of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius on our territory, adding that these holidays shouldn't divide Slovaks or be used for political or any other conflicts. „Slovakia and its national holidays give us a mosaic of values on which our homeland and our nation are built. Each of them represents something different, but together they create a picture of the values we stand for. It wouldn't be right to choose only the holiday we like or that feels closer to our heart from among them,“ Pellegrini said. "If today an atheist or a liberal has celebrated this festive day and honoured it properly, then a conservative is also able to celebrate 1 May [Labour Day], and social democrats and leftists can and will be able to celebrate 17 November [the Velvet Revolution that led to the end of communist regime in Slovakia - ed.note] ," Pellegrini noted. The president stated that Cyril and Methodius made it possible to celebrate the liturgy in Slovak language on the Slovak territory. One of the messages should therefore be to reflect on whether people are using the right words and the right language. "We should say sincerely tell ourselves that we reject language that's vulgar, language that is offensive and language that divides," he said. When commemorating the Thessalonian brothers, the president said that people shouldn't only look back at history, because the legacy of these great saints also lies in the significant progress they brought, adding that on this day Slovaks should also discuss the country's future and what can be done to ensure that Slovakia moves towards a better future. lin