What holiday is celebrated on February 16: all about this day

On February 16, Orthodox believers honor the memory of the martyrs Pamphilus, the presbyter, Valentus, the deacon, Paul, Porphyry, Seleucius, Theodulus, Julian, Samuel, Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. Anna, Roman, Symon, Semen, Adrian, Vlas, Timofiy, Havrylo, Dmytro, and Claudia celebrate their name days today.

Ukraine celebrates the Day of Military Journalist and the Day of Unity, and the world celebrates the Kyoto Protocol Day, Innovation Day, World Day of Caring, and the National Day of the DPRK. OBOZ.UA tells about the holidays and significant events of this day.

What holidays are celebrated on February 16

On February 16, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of 12 martyrs, including Pamphilus the presbyter, Valentus the deacon, as well as Paul, Porphyry, Seleucus, Theodulus, Julian, Samuel, Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah and Isaiah.

These saints lived in the III-IV centuries during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who was known for his brutal persecution of Christians. Pamphilus, Valentinus, and Paul suffered for their faith in Caesarea Palestina. Pamphilus was a presbyter and Valentinus was a deacon. They were engaged in rewriting the texts of the Holy Scriptures. For this they were imprisoned. In prison they met young men who also suffered for their faith. All the believers were executed by order of the emperor.

Military journalists celebrate their professional holiday on February 16. These people are often on the front lines to film and report on the events that take place at the front. Their work is extremely important because they help people learn the truth about the war and the heroes who defend the country.

On February 16, 2015, Captain Dmytro Labutkin, editor of the television editorial office of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine's Briz TV and Radio Studio, was killed near Debaltseve while performing a combat mission. Until his last breath, he continued to record the events on camera, demonstrating his dedication to both military service and journalistic duty.

Based on the Order of the Ministry of Defense, every year on February 16, events are held to honor the best military journalists, press officers and public relations officers. This date has also become a day of remembrance, when military journalists who gave their lives while performing tasks in combat zones are honored.

The Day of Unity in Ukraine has been celebrated on February 16 since 2022. It was introduced by presidential decree amid the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion. The holiday is intended to demonstrate the unity of the Ukrainian people in the face of external threats, to emphasize the commonality of citizens regardless of nationality, religion, or language.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on December 11, 1997, to supplement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It entered into force on February 16, 2005.

The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent global warming. The Protocol sets quantitative commitments for developed countries and countries with economies in transition to reduce or stabilize greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990.

The Innovation Day on February 16 is a great opportunity to celebrate the importance of innovation in our lives and to promote the development of an innovative culture in the country. Innovation is a key driver of economic growth and social development. They help create new jobs, improve people's quality of life, and solve global problems such as climate change, hunger, and poverty.

On February 16, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) celebrates one of the most important national holidays - the Day of the Shining Star. This day is dedicated to the birthday of Kim Jong-il, the former leader of the DPRK and son of Kim Il-sung. The Day of the Shining Star is a public holiday and a day off in the DPRK. This day is celebrated with great fanfare and festivities.

Significant historical events on February 16

• 1267 - Castile and Portugal signed the Treaty of Badajoz on the interstate border.
• 1270 - Lithuanians won a hard-fought victory over the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karus.
• 1659 - In England, Nicholas Vanaker wrote the world's first check for 400 pounds. This document is still kept in the archives of the National Bank.
• 1918 - the Lithuanian Independence Act was adopted.
• 1923 - an archaeological expedition led by Howard Carter discovered the entrance to the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
• 1937 - Wallace Carothers, a research chemist at DuPont, patented nylon.
• 1943 - Soviet troops recaptured Kharkiv from the Germans for a month.
• 1945 - U.S. Expeditionary Forces begin the operation to capture Iwo Jima. A 21,000-strong Japanese contingent held off a 100,000-strong American armada for a month.
• 1968 - the first telephone emergency service, 911, was established in the city of Gaylville, Alabama, USA.

• 1991 - The first Galician Assembly (a joint session of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, and Ternopil regional councils) was held at the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater.
• 2005 - the Kyoto Protocol came into force.

Who was born on February 16

• 1497 - Philip Melanchthon, German humanist, theologian and educator, evangelical reformer.
• 1740 - Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher, printer, type designer, author of hundreds of fonts, including Cyrillic.
• 1813 - Semen Hulak-Artemovsky, Ukrainian opera singer, composer, playwright ("Zaporozhets Beyond the Danube"; d. 1873).
• 1822 - Francis Galton, English anthropologist, geographer, statistician, sociologist and psychologist.
• 1834 - Ernst Haeckel, German natural scientist and philosopher.
• 1867 - Efrosynia Zarnytska, Ukrainian dramatic actress and singer.
• 1877 - Mykola Makarenko, archaeologist, museum expert and art historian.

• 1885 - Zinaida Rybchynska, Ukrainian dramatic actress and singer.
• 1905 - Petro Vlasiuk, Ukrainian agrochemist, soil scientist and plant physiologist.
• 1909 - Richard McDonald, a California restaurateur, opened a fast food restaurant with his brother. In 1954, their idea was picked up by Ray Kroc, who created the McDonald's worldwide restaurant chain.
• 1954 - Ian Banks, a Scottish writer who was named one of the "vanguard of daring novelists in modern Britain" for his extraordinary prose.
• 1959 - John McEnroe, American tennis player, former world number one.

Died on this day:

• 1829 - François-Joseph Gosseck, French composer, considered the founder of the French symphony.
• 1868 - Tadolini Adamo, Italian sculptor.
• 1892 - Henry Walter Bates, English naturalist and traveler, discovered the phenomenon of mimicry.

• 1907 - Josue Carducci, Italian poet, Nobel Prize winner (1906).
• 1919 - Vira Kholodna, a prominent Ukrainian-born film actress of the silent era.
• 1932 - Ferdinand Buisson, French reformist educator and public figure. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1968 - Yevhen Malaniuk, Ukrainian writer, centurion of the Ukrainian People's Republic Army.
• 1980 - Erich Armand Arthur Joseph Hückel, German physicist and chemist, one of the founders of quantum chemistry.
• 1990 - Keith Haring, American painter, sculptor and public figure.
• 1992 - Oleksandr Ogloblyn, Ukrainian historian and archaeologist, one of the founders of the statehood trend in Ukrainian historiography.
• 2013 - Tony Sheridan, British singer, guitarist, songwriter.

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