The beginning of our long-range aviation was laid by the Ilya Muromets squadron. It was the world's first heavy bomber combat unit. Nicholas II approved the decision to create it on December 23, 1914. During the First World War, the squadron flew four hundred combat missions. In their entire history, the Germans managed to shoot down only one Muromets. After the February revolution came the collapse of the army. In September 1917, the planes had to be burned to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy. At that time, the squadron included twenty aircraft. The Bolsheviks also understood the importance of long-range aviation. In 1918, a group of three “Murom residents” was formed. A qualitative change came with the commissioning of the TB-3 model designed by Tupolev. At the beginning of the 30s, several long-range aviation corps were created. The thirties were marked by the creation of strategic aviation. At that time, such formations did not exist anywhere in the world. During these years there was a rapid development of aviation. Several design bureaus worked on creating fundamentally new models of heavy bombers. In parallel with this, organizational work was underway to form the structure of long-range aviation. At the beginning of World War II, there were approximately one and a half thousand aircraft and about a thousand crews on combat duty. The role of long-range aviation was evident from the first day of the war. On June 22, planes bombed the Germans near Suwalki and Przemysl. The next day - the enemy extinguished Danzig, Warsaw, Krakow and several other cities. On the night of August 11, 1941, heavy aircraft bombed Berlin. During the war, long-range aviation crews took part in all the most important operations. They made more than 220 thousand sorties and dropped two and a quarter million bombs of various calibers. Six servicemen became twice heroes of the Soviet Union, 269 people received the Hero Star. In 1946, the Long-Range Aviation of the Armed Forces was created. The basis for its creation was the 18th Air Army. The war almost completely depleted the aircraft fleet. In the late forties, it was decided to copy the American B-29. The Tu-4 entered service in 1947, and since 1951 these aircraft have been on combat duty with nuclear weapons. The main reorganization of long-range aviation took place in the 60s and 80s. At this time, a reform of management structures was carried out, new aircraft models were received. It was in the 60s that our pilots first began to fly “around the corner” and the exploration of the Arctic began. Aviation complexes Tu-22M3, Tu-160, Tu-95MS could strike with cruise missiles from any point on any target. The collapse of the USSR deprived the Ukrainian Tu-160 regiment and tankers of long-range aviation. At the end of the 90s, a gradual restoration of the number and financing of strategic units began. 2001 was marked by the first appearance of our giants over the North Pole in ten years. The combat readiness of the crews increased sharply. In 2003, two 160s and four 95s make a unique flight to the Indian Ocean. In the second half of 2007, regular flights to remote regions were resumed. The country's areas of intense shipping and economic activity are currently being actively patrolled. Long-range aviation has never had easy times. But, despite the problems, military personnel fulfill their duty to ensure combat readiness. On December 23, pilots and employees of support units receive well-deserved congratulations and awards.

Humanism, compassion and love for one's neighbor are human values, the relevance of which is not questioned. Each of us has the right to happiness, freedom of will and self-determination. People who do not believe in higher powers and God approach life rationally, critically assessing the events taking place in it. Paying tribute to the intelligence and fortitude of everyone who relies on the power of their intellect, humanists and their supporters celebrate the Festival of Human Light on December 23. This worldview system is based on the dignity and value of the individual, his right to happiness and the free search for the meaning of life. The light of reason, and not divine power, as followers of various religious movements believe, can help a person in this. Every year in December, believers celebrate various holidays: Catholics - Christmas, Jews - Hanukkah, Chinese and other Asian peoples - Dongzhi (winter solstice), the black population of the USA - Kwanzaa. December also marks the Festival of Human Light, which is not associated with religious cults and is their alternative. Humanists from New Jersey first started talking about HumanLight in 2001. Supporters of the philosophical movement, which proclaims human freedom, dignity and self-expression as the highest value, decided to draw public attention to the value of reason and critical perception of the world. Ideas have not lost their relevance since the Renaissance - the heyday of this worldview. In 2004, the holiday was officially recognized by the American Humanist Association, which includes agnostics, atheists and other freethinkers. The organization is the founder of the International Ethical Union and other societies that defend the human right to independently determine the form and meaning of one’s life. Candles of three colors are a symbol of the identity of humanistic values. On the holiday of Human Light, it is customary to hold charity auctions and other events. On December 23, in support of the ideas of humanism, red candles are lit, representing compassion and love for one's neighbor, blue ones - reason, gold (yellow) - hope. Humanists do not fight against religion and beliefs, but, on the contrary, defend the human right to freedom of religion or an atheistic position. They convey their beliefs by creating alternatives to traditional religious celebrations. That is why the Holiday of Human Light appeared, promoting the highest values ​​- freedom of will, defining oneself as an individual who, despite social status, nationality and other characteristics, has the right to happiness.

Fans of extreme sports and wave riding choose surfing. Fans of snow-covered slopes and peaks engage in mountaineering, alpine skiing, bobsleigh or snowboarding. Descent at high speed from a steep slope on a special board has been included in the list of Olympic sports since 1998. But a celebration dedicated to snowboarding appeared on the holiday calendar relatively recently - in 2006. Its establishment was initiated by The World Snowboard Federation. Thanks to the efforts of the members of this international organization, December 23 is celebrated as World Snowboarding Day. World Snowboard Day is celebrated in countries where there is snow on the slopes and steep slopes at this time. Everyone has free entry to ski resorts, concerts, master classes and other themed events. In an atmosphere of joy and fun, the participants of the holiday do not forget about the history of the emergence of extreme sports. Legend has it that the starting point should be considered 1926, when Jack Burtsheet decided to cut a board out of plywood and attach it to his legs using horse reins. Using this device, the Austrian was able to go down the snowy slope. According to another version, the birthplace of snowboarding is the state of Michigan. Its local resident, Sherman Poppen, came up with the idea in 1964 to build a device to entertain his children. An American invented a skateboard without wheels that slid on the snow and was controlled using a rope attached to the nose. Poppen patented his invention, calling it "snerf". A few years later, the appearance of the sports equipment began to resemble the modern one that snowboarders now ride. In 1983, thanks to Jeff Grell and Louis Fornier, the first high-back bindings were introduced to connect an athlete's boot to the board. The snowboarder's equipment includes a helmet, protection of the arms, legs and back from injury. Thanks to this, adrenaline junkies feel more confident when descending snowy slopes. Despite precautions, the injury rate for snowboarders is twice that of alpine skiers. In snowboarding, like any other sport, records are constantly being set. Thus, the highest speed on the board was 202 km/h by Australian Darren Powell. The longest jump was made by Mads Johnson from Norway. He flew over the ground, starting from a 40-meter springboard, 187 meters. The triple somersault was first performed by Torsten Horgmo, the double croc trick was performed in 2006 by David Benedek. December 23 is considered the opening day of the season - the start of snowboarding, one of the most exciting sports. The organization of downhill competitions on boards along designated routes is carried out by the International Ski Federation. The first snowboarding world championship took place in 1988. Today, single and team competitions are held in several disciplines: cross-country, parallel slalom, slopestyle, giant slalom, halfpipe and big air with tricks performed during a long jump. One of the varieties of snowboarding is jibbing - sliding on a board along artificially created structures made of metal, plastic or wood. Vertical obstacles can be snow mounds, logs, curbs, fences, railings, etc. While driving on slippery surfaces, riders perform somersaults and jumps. Snowboarders compete in speed and skill in performing tricks, dreaming of becoming record holders. But this is not the most important thing. Snowboarding is a sport for which a person has overcome fear and done a lot of internal work on the way to the title of champion. Therefore, everyone who has overcome fear and stood on the board is already a triumphant. Take a step towards becoming a record holder - sign up for one of the sports sections on December 23. There is a good chance that after this, World Snowboarding Day will become one of the most important holidays for you in the coming years.

Snow Angels Day

Emperor's Birthday - Tenno Tanjobi in Japan

Blucas Festival in Lithuania

National Day for the Liberation of Port Said in Egypt (Victory Day, Port Said`s National Day)

December 23 (December 10, old style) is the day of Mina according to the folk calendar. Its origin comes from the church holiday of the holy martyr Mina the Eloquent, who served as a secret preacher of Christianity. Mina served as a military commander for the pagan emperor Maximian in the 4th century. When popular unrest began between Christians and pagans in Alexandria, the ruler sent the eloquent Mina there to resolve the problems. The unrest was calmed, but Mina secretly denounced idolatry and glorified Christianity. The people believed him and accepted the faith of Christ. Having learned about what he had done, the emperor sent his subject Hermogenes to punish Mina. After much torture, the saint managed to convince Hermogenes to become a Christian. Then Maximian personally came to deal with his traitors. He ordered both of them to be beheaded, and personally killed Mina’s assistant Evgraf with a sword. People believed that after the day of Mina the Eloquent, the daylight hours began to increase slightly. According to legend, the holy martyr protected the population from twilight. After sunset, a veil of darkness shrouded a person’s eyelids, his concepts of good and evil, truth and lies were distorted, preventing him from leading a righteous life. It was Mina who helped a person to see clearly and escape the temptations of evil spirits. They turned to him with prayers as a healer of human vision. Also on the day of Mina, rituals were performed to relieve bad sleep in children. A healer was brought to a child who slept restlessly, screamed in his sleep or cried. She read conspiracies against evil spirits, driving them away from her childhood sleep. If on the day of Mina the peasants noticed sunny weather, then frosts were expected. The twinkling stars in the sky also promised cold weather. Birds flying close to the house and hiding under the roof foreshadowed an approaching snowstorm. The drizzling rain predicted that the weather would be similar in the spring.

Mokshada Ekadashi in India

Orthodox holidays on December 23:

Memorial Day of St. Joasaph of Belgorod

Memorial Day of the Great Martyr Mina the Eloquent