The “Hayordats Toon” Armenian School/Center of Moscow has declared the month of February as the Month of the Mother Language, which will include school-wide and class-wide events, as well as essay and poetry contests devoted to the mother language. This is what the School’s Armenian language teacher Svetlana Mikayelyan said at the ceremony marking the launch of the month-long events on February 7, reports the “Hayordats Toon” information center.

Declaring the month of February as the Month of the Mother Language has already become a tradition, and it is not by chance since UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day on February 21, 2000.

After greeting the students and telling them about the creation and significance of the Armenian alphabet, Svetlana Mikayelyan presented sayings about the Armenian language and showed a film devoted to Oshakan and Mesrop Mashtots.

“The Armenian alphabet has kept the Armenian people away from annihilation and assimilation like a sword and shield. Today, you also face that issue. It is with the purpose of disallowing perdition that “Hayordats Toon” has been around for nearly a decade. History has shown us that Armenian clergymen were the first protectors of Armenian literature. Even today, the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church carries out the mission of preserving the mother language abroad. It helps Armenian children grow up as Armenians and get in touch with their language and history,” Svetlana Mikayelyan said after the film screening.

Open lessons, trivia and events devoted to the Armenian language will be held every Sunday as part of the month-long events, and the best poems devoted to the mother language will be published.