What holiday is celebrated on February 26: calendar of events

On February 26, Orthodox believers honor the memory of St. Porfirije, Archbishop of Hazy and Martyr Sebastian. Lenten services also begin on this day. Serhiy, Mykola, Petro, Ivan and Anna celebrate their name days today.

In Ukraine, February 26 is known as the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea. And the world celebrates the International Day of Tongue Twister Contest, the Day of Inconvenience. OBOZ.UA tells about the holidays and significant events of this day.

What holidays are celebrated on February 26

The Day of Crimean resistance to Russian occupation is a memorable date on the anniversary of the rally of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Simferopol in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

On February 26, 2014, a large-scale rally was held in Simferopol. The day before, on February 25, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the ARC, Vladimir Konstantinov, announced an extraordinary session on February 26, which was to consider the issue of Crimea's secession from Ukraine.

On February 26, two rallies took place simultaneously near the building of the Supreme Council of the ARC: a large-scale pro-Ukrainian rally organized by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and the Euromaidan Crimea movement, which gathered about 10,000 participants, and a pro-Russian rally attended by about 700 people. Due to insufficient security measures, clashes broke out between the sides, resulting in the deaths of two people. Pro-Russian activists were pushed into the courtyard of the building, and the extraordinary session of the parliament did not take place.

The next day, armed Russian special forces seized the buildings of the Verkhovna Rada and the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Simferopol, marking the beginning of the Russian occupation of the peninsula.

On February 26, 2020, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree establishing the annual Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, which is celebrated on February 26.

On February 26, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Porfirije, Archbishop of Hazia, and the martyr Sebastian according to the new style.

St. Porfirije was born around 346 in Thessalonica, Macedonia. He was known for his pious life and deep faith. In his youth, Porfirije traveled to Egypt, where he became a monk. Later he moved to Jerusalem. In 402, Porfirije was appointed bishop of Gaza. At that time there were many pagans in the city who persecuted Christians. Porphyry converted many people to Christianity through his preaching and miracles. He also built several churches in Gaza. St. Porfirije died in 420 and was canonized by the Orthodox Church.

The Martyr Sebastian lived in the third century. He was a soldier and secretly professed Christianity. When the Emperor Diocletian began persecuting Christians, Sebastian was arrested and subjected to severe torture. St. Sebastian is revered as the patron saint of warriors and athletes.

February 26 is also the International Tongue Twister Day. Tongue twisters are specially constructed phrases with words that create difficulties for quick and clear pronunciation. However, this is exactly what makes them valuable, as they help to develop diction, improve memory and articulation, and just have fun.

February 26 is also celebrated around the world as:

• World Pistachio Day;
• Kuwait Liberation Day;
• Maltese Carnival;
• Day of Remembrance of the Khojaly Massacre in Azerbaijan.

Notable historical events on February 26

• 1616 - Galileo Galilei accepted the verdict of the Inquisition on the complete rejection of the theory of heliocentrism, but allegedly stated: "It does rotate after all".
• 1815 - Napoleon, exiled to Elba, escapes from the island to begin his second reign.
• 1832 - reaction to the November Uprising: Nicholas I declared the Kingdom of Poland an inseparable part of Russia, and abolished elements of Polish statehood.
• 1878 - Ivan Franko's trial began in Lviv on suspicion of propagating socialism.
• 1885 - The Berlin Conference to discuss the division of Africa among European powers ended.
• 1895 - a glass-blowing machine is patented in Ohio (USA).
• 1935 - Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated radar technology to the British Air Force.
• 1987 - the Anglican Church allowed women to be priests.
• 2004 - The European Parliament recognized Stalin's deportation of the Chechen people as an act of genocide.
• 2014 - Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea.

Who was born on February 26

• 1587 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer and teacher of the Roman school of the early Baroque period. He made a significant contribution to the development of early opera.
• 1802 - Victor Hugo, French writer.
• 1829 - Levi Strauss, "father of jeans".
• 1842 - Camille Flammarion, French scientist, author of Popular Astronomy.
• 1846 - "Buffalo Bill" (William Frederick Cody), American scout in the Wild West wars, from whom the tradition of cowboy rodeos originated.
• 1903 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1963).
• 1931 - Oleksandr Vrabel, People's Artist of Ukraine, singer.
• 1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey (2003-2014), President of Turkey since 2014.
• 1958 - Michel Houellebecq, French writer, singer, screenwriter, film director.

• 1974 - Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver, nine-time world champion, record holder for the number of victories and points in the WRC class.
• 1986 - Serhiy Tsymbal, Ukrainian military officer, Hero of Ukraine.

Died on this day:

• 1548 - Lorenzino de' Medici, Italian politician and writer ("Apologia").
• 1771 - Helvetius, French writer and materialist philosopher.
• 1834 - Alois Senefelder, inventor of lithography.
• 1969 - Karl Jaspers, German philosopher.
• 1998 - Theodore William Schultz, American economist, Nobel Prize in Economics.
• 2005 - Jeff Raskin, author of the Macintosh computer idea.

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