What is celebrated on February 12: calendar of events

On February 12, Orthodox believers honor the memory of St. Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch, and St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus. Today is the name day of Yevhen, Anton, Oleksiy, Maria and Stepan.

The world celebrates Darwin Day, Hug Day and Red Hand Day - the International Day of Remembrance of Child Soldiers. OBOZ.UA tells about the holidays and significant events of this day.

What holidays are celebrated on February 12

On February 12, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch and St. Alexy and Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus' according to the new style.

St. Meletios lived in the fourth century. He was a bishop in the city of Sebastia and later became the Archbishop of Antioch. Meletios was known for his struggle against the Arian heresy and his defense of the Orthodox faith. He was distinguished by his meekness and wisdom, for which he was revered among the faithful.

St. Alexis lived in the fourteenth century and was Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia during the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy. He was honored for his diplomatic skills and did much to strengthen the Orthodox faith.

The International Day of Remembrance of Child Soldiers, also known as Red Hand Day, is celebrated every year on February 12. The commemorative date was established in 2002 on the initiative of international organizations. It was on February 12 that the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict entered into force. The red hand has become a symbol of this day, as it reflects the bloody trail that war leaves on children's lives. The day is a call to action against the use of children for military purposes and aims to support children affected by armed conflict.

Darwin's Day is celebrated every year on February 12, the birthday of the famous English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882). In 1859, Darwin published his main work, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, which was revolutionary for biology. The scientist became the author of the theory of evolution, which explains the origin and development of life on Earth. Darwin's Day is a kind of call to support scientific research and the development of science.

It is celebrated around the world on February 12:

• Unity Day in Myanmar;
• Amazon Day or Ecuadorian Oriente Day;
• Lincoln Day in the United States;
• Bra Day in Japan;
• Youth Day in Venezuela;
• Independence Day in Chile;
• Day of Extraterrestrial Culture.

Notable historical events on February 12

• 1541 - Pedro de Valdivia founded the current capital of Chile, Santiago.
• 1914 - the first flight of the Ilya Muromets airplane (designed by Igor Sikorsky) with 16 passengers on board.
• 1918 - in Korosten, the Small Council of the Ukrainian People's Republic adopted the Volodymyr Trident as the large and small emblems of the Ukrainian state.
• 1921 - the Georgian Bolsheviks revolted against the democratic republic; four days later, Soviet troops crossed the border into Georgia.
• 1924 - Tutankhamun's mummy was taken out of the tomb 15 months after its opening.

• 1936 - The first exhibition of Ukrainian folk art opened at the Museum of Ukrainian Art in Kyiv.
• 1947 - Dior presented the revolutionary New Look collection, which helped to recreate Paris as the center of the fashion world.
• 1949 - in Quito, after a general panic arose due to the broadcast of the Spanish-language adaptation of the War of the Worlds, a crowd burned down a radio station and a local newspaper.
• 1991 - The Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR restored the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the territory of the Crimean region of the Ukrainian SSR.
• 1992 - Ukraine establishes diplomatic relations with Latvia.
• 1999 - The U.S. Senate rejects the impeachment of Bill Clinton on charges of perjury in connection with the Monica Lewinsky affair.
• 1992 - The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka recognized the independence of Ukraine.
• 2002 - The trial of Slobodan Milosevic began in The Hague.

Who was born on February 12

• 1637 - Jan Swammerdam, Dutch physiologist who discovered red blood cells
• 1809 - Charles Darwin, British naturalist
• 1809 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (1861-1865).
• 1871 - Les Martovych, Ukrainian writer.
• 1885 - Mykola Synelnykov, Ukrainian actor, teacher, director.
• 1895 - Anatolii Petrytskyi, Ukrainian painter.
• 1904 - Yuri Mushak, Ukrainian translator, teacher, literary critic.
• 1918 - Julian Schwinger, American theoretical physicist, one of the founders of quantum electrodynamics, Nobel Prize winner.
• 1939 - Joe Don Baker, American film actor.
• 1950 - Steve Hackett, British rock guitarist, former member of the band Genesis.
• 1980 - Christina Ricci, American film actress.

Died on this day:

• 1627 - Charles I of Liechtenstein, ancestor of the princely family of Liechtenstein.

• 1804 - Immanuel Kant, German philosopher.
• 1945 - Klym Savur, general-corporal, commander of the UPA.
• 1947 - Kurt Lewin, German and American psychologist, one of the creators of the so-called "group dynamics".
• 1979 - Jean Renoir, French film director, son of an artist.
• 1984 - Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer and poet.
• 1989 - Thomas Bernhard, Austrian writer and playwright.
• 2019 - Gordon Banks, English footballer, goalkeeper.

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