The holiday pays tribute and is dedicated to the memory of our greatest poet, Dr France Prešeren, an artist without whom Slovenian poetry simply cannot be imagined. Prešeren was the first poet to raise Slovenian to the level of artistic language, thus placing himself alongside the greatest European Romantic poets.

In her message on the cultural holiday, Minister of Culture Asta Vrečko wrote that culture is one of the foundations of society and a pillar of social justice. "Although our country is small, we are infinitely rich, also due to culture," she wrote, adding that we can be proud of the outstanding achievements of our public institutions, non-governmental organisations and artists.

She recalled the success of last year's project of Slovenia as the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, while the Public Use of the Slovenian Language Act showed multinational companies that Slovenia expects all electronic devices and cars to finally start communicating in Slovenian.

Our next big project is Nova Gorica–Gorizia, European Capital of Culture. "I believe that the project will unite the entire country, lay new foundations for cooperation, community action and co-existence along the border, and reinstate culture at the centre of society, where it belongs," she wrote.

On the eve of the holiday, a state ceremony is held to award Prešeren Prizes and Prešeren Fund Prizes, which are the highest recognition in the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in the field of artistic creation. This year, Prešeren Awards for Lifetime Achievement were awarded to Erika Vouk, a poet and translator, and Henrik Neubauer, a ballet dancer, choreographer, director, publicist and teacher. Six Prešern Fund Prizes were also awarded.