[2] The first celebration took place in 1963 to commemorate the centenary of Cantares gallegos, the first contemporary work written in the Galician language by Rosalía de Castro (1837–1885), who later became one of the most important poets in the history of Galicia.

They estimated that the book of poems by Rosalía de Castro (Cantares Gallegos) was the first masterpiece of contemporary Galician literature, and therefore the inaugurator of the literary movement known as O Rexurdimento.

The real date of publication of Cantares Gallegos is actually unknown, but this day was chosen due to the written dedication from Rosalía to the Galician writer Cecilia Böhl de Faber (Fernán Caballero).

[3] To commemorate the first Galician Literature Day, a critical edition of Cantares Gallegos was published by famous writer Fermín Bouza-Brey.

[4] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy announced that for the first time in its 57-year history, the celebration would not take place on May 17, moving instead to October 31, just one day after the 110th birthday of the honouree, Ricardo Carvalho Calero.