Language Day, also known as Limba Noastra (Our Language), is a public holiday in Moldova, and it is observed on August 31 each year. The holiday commemorates the language law adopted in 1989, in which the Moldovan language was proclaimed the state language of Moldova.
Moldova was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire in 1812 and named Bessarabia. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, Bessarabia proclaimed independence in 1918 and joined the Kingdom of Romania. However, Soviet Russia did not recognize Romanian rule in Bessarabia. In 1924, Bessarabia became an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) within the Ukrainian SSR.
Romania gained Bessarabia during World War II, but the Soviet Union gained it back at the end of the War. Moldova became one of the Soviet Socialist Republics after World War II. The Soviet authorities tried to break the ties between Moldova and Romania. They stated that Moldavan and Romanian are two different languages, although people now agree Moldavan and Romanian are the same languages with different dialects.
In 1989, the Democratic Movement of Moldova organized public demonstrations. It pressured the authorities to adopt a language law proclaiming Moldovan, written in the Latin script, to be the state language. The language law was adopted on August 31, 1989, when Moldova was the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
The following is the list of Language Day in Moldova from 2022 to 2026.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| Language Day | Aug 31, 2022 | Wednesday |
| Language Day | Aug 31, 2023 | Thursday |
| Language Day | Aug 31, 2024 | Saturday |
| Language Day | Aug 31, 2025 | Sunday |
| Language Day | Aug 31, 2026 | Monday |
Please check more public holidays in Moldova: