The achievements of Russian scientists in various fields of science are widely known outside our country. Hundreds of the greatest discoveries, often costing scientists their lives or health, pushed Russia forward into the age of scientific progress. The economic transformation of the state has largely occurred thanks to a powerful lever - science. Modern man owes many aspects of his life to a community of geniuses. On February 8, a holiday is celebrated throughout the country - Russian Science Day. Scientists and professors, doctors and candidates, teachers and students, in a word, everyone who, in one way or another, is related to science, widely celebrate this holiday. February 8 is not a public holiday, however, scientists are honored on this day throughout the country. Russia has always been famous for its outstanding people, despite rather meager investments in the development of scientific discoveries, as a result of which the so-called “brain drain” often occurs. Textbooks on any subject are replete with the names of Russian scientists. A huge layer of the most important discoveries is based on the shoulders of our nation. On February 8, 1724, at the direction of Peter the Great, the Russian Academy of Sciences was founded, renamed during the Soviet years to the Soviet Academy, and after the collapse of the USSR, it returned to its original name. In honor of this great event, today the whole country celebrates Russian Science Day on February 8. Of course, in Soviet times there were attempts to move the day of honoring Soviet scientists to the period from April 18 to 23, praising V.I. Lenin, however, historical justice triumphed in this case too. In 1999, B.N. Yeltsin signed a corresponding decree. February 8 is an important holiday. On this day, government certificates are distributed, new titles are established, grants are awarded for the implementation of new plans, and the most important conferences for the exchange of experience are held. A magnificent ceremony is organized at the Kremlin Palace, at which outstanding scientists receive well-deserved state awards. On this day, the media show the public interviews with scientists, television and radio programs about new achievements, stories about the difficulties and problems of research work, often comparable to exploits. On this day, educational institutions organize “Graduate Meeting Evenings”, conduct small seminars or classes with stories from the life of modern scientists. The life of a scientist is very difficult and at the same time amazing. Every scientist is ready to devote his entire life to the study of one molecule or ion, so that future generations can always benefit from these discoveries. And while our scientists work selflessly for the good of our Motherland, we have something to be proud of.

It is impossible to name the exact starting point of the history of the Russian topographical service. Mapping and any research in the field of topography has always been a matter of national importance. Before Peter I, there was no clear division of cartography into military and civil. During his reign, a quartermaster unit appeared in the army, whose task was to provide the troops with new maps. The emergence of the Navigation School made it possible to train our own specialists in the field of topography and geodesy. In the mid-eighteenth century, forty topographical service officers joined the General Staff. This period is considered to be the time when military topographers began working. Officially, the military topographical service began operating in 1812. On February 8 of this year, the Emperor signed a corresponding decree. The Depot was led by a director who was personally appointed by the Emperor. The work of the military topography service has always been of great importance. The lives of fighters and the outcome of battles and wars depended on the correct and timely map of the battle and on the study of enemy maps. Since 1940, the service has been part of the General Staff in the form of the Military Topographical Directorate. Before the collapse of the Union, the service included about one hundred and forty people. The range of tasks assigned to military topographers currently looks like this: • work with topographic maps: creating new ones, updating existing ones, accumulating reserves. Carrying out similar work in geodesy. Bringing maps and catalogs to military headquarters; • creation and accumulation of digital maps of the area, directing such resources to automatic systems for command and control of troops and weapons; • preparation of gravimetric and geodetic bases for ICBM launches, long-range aviation flights, artillery operations and combat duty of radio engineering complexes; • creation of satellite maps of the area, photographic surveys; • release of combat graphic documents; • carrying out state tasks in the field of cartography and geodesy. The work of military specialists has no statute of limitations. Satellite maps and images of the terrain in Syria, taken during the Soviet era, help our air forces currently fight terrorists. Russian specialists are actively working on creating geospatial models, using space units and ground support groups. In addition to the head center of space geodesy, navigation and cartography, the topographic service has created a geospatial information center, an expeditionary detachment, and military units of various subordination. In their work, military specialists use modern technical means. Among them: • ARM-EK - automated complex of workstations; • "Volynets" - self-propelled topographic system; • "Violit" - hardware and software complex; • PNGK-1 - astronomical and geodetic complex; • "Geonika-T" - navigation and geodetic system . The latest technologies make it possible to deploy the necessary equipment in a minimum amount of time and begin performing combat missions. No technical means can replace the experience and knowledge of a specialist. I would like to wish the representatives of this most difficult profession to be at their best, to avoid losses, and to always be needed by the Motherland.

February 8 is the International Day of Young Anti-Fascist Hero, which has been celebrated since 1964. This date was not chosen by chance; it combines several bloody events that occurred in different years on the same day. On February 8, 1943, in Paris, for refusing to hand over their underground comrades, the Nazis executed five boys who studied at the Beaufon Lyceum - Pierre Benoit, Jacques Baudry, Pierre Grelot, Jean Marie Argus and Lucien Legros. From February 8 to 9 of the same year in the Lugansk region, after brutal torture, nine members of the anti-fascist organization “Young Guard” were shot. Exactly twenty years later, in 1963, on February 8, at a rally of anti-fascists in Paris who opposed the war in Algeria, a French schoolboy, fifteen-year-old Daniel Fery, was killed. A year later, in Baghdad, a boy, Fadil Jamal, who was a liaison for the Communist Party of Iraq, died on February 8 for refusing to hand over his comrades. This holiday was introduced in memory of the young heroes who did not spare their lives in the fight against fascist ideology and its supporters. In world history, fascism left a bright red trace of the blood of millions of people who became victims of this ideology. The movement began relatively harmlessly, as a protest against democracy, rationalism and materialism. The Fin de siecle generation created its ideology based on the works of the English naturalist Charles Darwin, the German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche, the French philosopher Henri Bergson and even the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. The ideas of these cultural figures simply began to take on a life of their own and be interpreted in different ways. In many ways, the formation of the concept of the fascists was influenced by the image of the superman, first used by Nietzsche in his famous work “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” According to the philosopher, this creature should have surpassed modern man exactly as much as we have surpassed monkeys, that is, the difference in levels of development was as deep as an abyss. The ideology of fascism is also based on the theory of social Darwinism. Its supporters believed that the laws of natural selection and the struggle for survival also apply in human society. Victory always remains with the one who is stronger, and the rest are subject to destruction, since there is no place for the weak in this world. Such a concept perfectly justified any cruelty and gave carte blanche to the militarists - people who advocated waging any wars. This theory was completely denied by Darwin himself, who introduced two key terms into science that are actively used by social Darwinists. He believed that the laws of the animal world cannot be applied to human society. One way or another, supporters of fascist ideas eventually came to believe that there is a special caste of people who are higher, better, stronger than others. Only representatives of this carefully selected elite had the right to be in power, and the rest were subjected to total destruction or used as free labor. Skin color, nose shape, hair shade, eye shape - any of these factors could become a reason for degrading a person to the status of “cattle.” Although the supporters of fascism, who tried to build their own empire of “supermen” on human bones, were defeated, defeat is not destruction. Many fascist ideas turned out to be extremely tenacious, which is why they are still actively used today by nationalists, militarists, racists, anti-communists and anti-liberalists. “Young Guard” is an anti-fascist underground organization that operated during the Great Patriotic War in the Lugansk region (then called Voroshilovgrad). It consisted of seventy-one people. The youngest was fourteen years old, and fifty-five of them never turned nineteen. The organization was multinational. Its members included Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Moldovans. Young Guards distributed leaflets with real information about the state of affairs at the front and carried out sabotage, repelled prisoners of war and cut telephone wires, stole livestock and contaminated grain that was stored for the Germans. They set fire to the German labor exchange, where there were lists of people who were supposed to be driven to Germany. The Young Guards planned to organize an uprising to destroy the German garrison and join the Soviet troops. To do this, they spent a long time and painstakingly collecting weapons, ammunition, and grenades, but the organization was discovered. Initially, the organization's commissioner, Viktor Tretyakevich, was found guilty of disclosing the lists of participants, but 17 years later he was completely acquitted. Another participant, Gennady Pocheptsov, turned out to be the true traitor. He was convicted and executed in 1943 along with two accomplices. As witnesses later wrote, the soldiers barely managed to recapture him from an angry crowd of local residents, among whom was his mother, who demanded that she be given a rifle so that she could personally shoot her son. The executions of the Young Guard took place between January and February. They were tortured to death - their bones were broken, their arms and legs were cut off, their eyes and skin were burned out, shoe needles were driven under their nails. The police chief's office, where the executions were carried out, resembled a slaughterhouse because of the traces of blood. Most of the Young Guards, after cruel torture, were thrown into the pit of one of the Krasnodon mines. Some were shot beforehand, and some were thrown out alive. To make sure no one got out, German soldiers dropped grenades and several heavy mining carts from above. The rest of the Young Guards were shot in the forest in February. Soviet troops liberated Krasnodon over the following weeks and already on February 14, the mutilated bodies of Young Guard members began to be removed from the pit. Some of them had to be obtained only after a month. After being identified by the remains of clothing, the Young Guards were reburied with honors in a mass grave. Today, many journalists and writers are skeptical about the activities of the underground organization - they did nothing, did not influence the course of the war. In fact, the true feat of the Krasnodon boys and girls was accomplished after the arrests, when, having survived inhuman torture, they remained human until the very end at an abandoned pit, where the mutilated guys supported those who could not stand.

Realtor Day is a relatively young holiday. The real estate profession itself is also usually considered young, but the first real estate offices appeared already at the end of the 18th century. The first of them were opened in England, but already in the next century professional realtors, or brokers, appeared in other countries, such as France, Germany and Austria. The United States of America became the leader in this area - brokerage companies then existed even in small towns of the country. This fashionable trend did not bypass Russia either - the first real estate office opened in 1880 in St. Petersburg, and offered not only intermediation services in the sale of real estate, but also assistance in the purchase and sale of goods. After the revolution, official brokers, of course, did not exist, but in fact they were always there, finding clients a suitable housing exchange option for small commissions. Realtors were able to obtain official status again in the 90s of the 20th century, after the country transitioned to a market economy. In 1992, the Russian Guild of Realtors was created in Moscow. And today, most of the population of our country has probably used the services of a realtor at least once - just imagine how many people rent, sell or buy apartments every day. In 1996, the Moscow Association of Realtors took the initiative to create a professional holiday. The proposal was supported, and now Realtor Day is traditionally celebrated every third Saturday in December, on the eve of the long New Year holidays. True, this holiday has not yet become official. Interestingly, in 2008, the National Council of the Russian Guild of Realtors proposed legalizing Realtor Day, but chose a different date - February 8. The tradition has not become particularly popular in professional circles, although there are realtors who celebrate their holiday on this day, and there are those who celebrate Realtor Day twice a year - just like the Old New Year.

Slovenia is a small old country in the center of Europe. It is washed by the Adriatic Sea, has many ancient castles - and in general its architectural component is quite diverse. Slovenia has its own flavor, unlike any other. The fact is that over the years of the country’s existence - and its territory was also part of the Austrian Empire, many church reformations and other significant historical and cultural events took place here - and, despite everything, the identity of Slovenia only grew. Today it is an economically developed country, the level of which is not inferior to the neighboring countries of Italy, Hungary and Austria. Franze Prershern played a major role in the self-awareness of the people of Slovenia. A lawyer by training, a well-educated, logical and abstractly thinking person, he was an outstanding poet of his people. His poems are still known today and have been translated into many languages ​​of the world. Prershern lived in the mid-19th century - 1800-1849, and died of a serious illness on February 8. It was this day, which is also known as Prershern Day, that it was decided to make the Day of Slovenian Culture. Franze Prershern, like all creative people, had a rather difficult personal life - at the same time, he had a conflicting relationship with the church, and, paradoxically, his creations were very much loved by the people of Slovenia. Franze wrote in German and Slovenian, and that is why his role in the development of Slovenian culture is so great. Historians know the depth of his personal experiences, which he put into words - and these lines, often dedicated to women, penetrate the depths of any soul. Towards the end of his life, in 1846, despite the ups and downs of relations with the country's authorities, he was allowed to open his own private law practice. Here he founded his own business and even gave jobs to other people. However, illness took him away from society on February 8, 1949. And since 1945, on this day it was decided to celebrate the Day of Slovenian Culture - and Franze Prershern is considered to be one of the founders of the self-awareness of the Slovenian people, a symbol of the language of Slovenia, because it was he who showed all the greatness, originality, and melody of the Slovenian language. It is not without reason that people consider the Day of Slovenian Culture to be Prershern Day. After all, with the help of his poems it became clear that this language is not inferior to other European languages ​​in its development.

Every man makes a very important decision in his life - he chooses a companion. However, it is much more difficult to propose to your lady to spend the rest of your life together. And so the holiday was created for loving hearts, Marriage Proposal Day, which is celebrated annually on February 8th. So, if you have already found your soulmate and decided to take a very important step - to propose to her, then this day is ideal for this purpose. And there are many men all over the globe who are waiting for February 8th to express their feelings to their soulmate. This day is filled with love and romance, which is an excellent occasion for a long-awaited proposal, where every man wants to hear the answer “Yes!” from your life partner. In the old days, in many cultures, representatives of the stronger sex, instead of proposing marriage, asked for permission to marry from the father of the chosen one. And what’s most interesting is that, as a rule, no one was interested in the opinion of the bride herself. It was a kind of deal where the future wife, with her dowry, left her father’s family for her husband’s family. In modern society, representatives of the fair sex make their own decisions. And there are even cases when ladies propose marriage to their men without waiting for them to mature. Here, for example, Queen Victoria is a clear confirmation of this, because at that time she already had the status of a reigning monarch. In America, about 5% of women themselves propose marriage to their chosen ones. And for these purposes, jewelry companies began to produce engagement rings for men. In fact, there are a lot of ways, it all depends on the flight of fancy. Some people prefer traditional variations, where a man gets down on one knee, opens a box with a ring and asks “is his beloved ready to get married?” Many people invite their beloved to dinner at a restaurant and ask the waiter in advance to put an engagement ring in a glass of champagne. And some organize quests or flash mobs. Others write marriage proposals on rose petals; they throw a party where friends come out wearing T-shirts with letters from the phrase “be my wife.” And this is not the entire list of original ideas. The most important rule that must be followed on this day is to do it not just beautifully, but to put your soul into it. So, if you are already, so to speak, ripe for this, then February 8 is the most successful day for a marriage proposal.

The Armenian calendar, like the Orthodox calendar, is based on the Julian calendar. Therefore, most holidays in the Armenian community are celebrated with a two-week delay in relation to the Roman Catholic Church. The counting of years in the Armenian Church begins on December 7, 552, that is, from the Second Synod in Dvin and is called the “Great Age of Armenia.” In 451, the Avarayr Battle took place on the banks of the Tgmut River in the village of Artaz. To support the feudal warriors and defend their homeland and faith, the village residents joined the troops. If you believe the legends, then everyone took part in the battle, from old men and women to children. The leader of the army was Vardan Mamikonyan, an Armenian commander and prince. Although he understood perfectly well that the enemy’s forces were many times greater than them, he was not going to give up. Although the soldiers and residents fought bravely against the Persians, they failed to win. The uprising was smashed to smithereens, most were killed on the battlefield, including Vardan. The survivors split into small groups and hid in the mountains. Although the battle was lost, the spirit of the Armenians could not be broken. The Persians, frightened by the size of the uprising, nevertheless returned the right to self-government in Armenia. Thus, Mamikonyan and his army fulfilled their duty and showed the spiritual strength and invincibility of the Armenian people. Vardanank Day is celebrated in the first week of Barekendan (or Maslenitsa, the beginning of Lent) on Thursday. But this is not only a church holiday, but also a state one. On this day, patriotic celebrations are organized throughout the country. The huge Armenian diaspora also maintains and honors its traditions, so in many countries where Armenians live, you can see similar celebrations. The invincible mountain people deeply honor their history and national heroes. Therefore, this day is one of the most important in their calendar. Mamikonyan is numbered among the saints in the Armenian Church.

The state of nirvana, leading to unity with all that exists, is achieved through deep and lengthy meditation. As a result of this, a person is freed from worries and worries, passions, desires and attachments. According to legend, on the eve of his physical death on February 8, Buddha Shakyamuni entered into meditation and achieved Parinirvana, that is, complete enlightenment. According to other sources, this happened on February 15, 485 BC. In honor of this event, Buddhists in East Asia annually celebrate Parinirvana Day. It is customary to practice meditation on the eve and during the holiday. Believers visit Buddhist temples and monasteries and bring expensive clothes, jewelry, household items and money. In pagodas on February 8 and 15, in honor of Parinirvana Day, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra is publicly read, describing the last days of the life of Gautama Buddha and the teacher’s instructions to his followers. On the day of his death, he went into a forest of sal trees and lay down to rest among them, continuing to give advice. It is believed that the teacher's last words were: "All composite things are short-lived. Strive for your own liberation with special zeal." Buddha meant being outside of suffering, exiting the wheel of Samsara and the circle of endless rebirth of the soul. In monasteries, treats are prepared for pilgrims on Parinirvana Day. The holiday is international - it is celebrated by adherents of Buddhism in Europe and America. These include such famous personalities as Richard Gere, Oliver Stone, Goldie Hawn, George Lucas, Steven Seagal, Sting, etc. In Russia, B. Grebenshchikov, M. Arbatova, I. Vernik are fond of Buddhism. The teaching has won the hearts of many followers thanks to tolerance, effective practices of learning spiritual truths and the concentration of believers on individual enlightenment. This eastern religion annually finds new adherents in the West, eager to free themselves from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. The spiritual and political leader of the teaching is the Dalai Lama. On February 8 and 15, Buddhists reflect on the frailty of all things and on death, impermanence and imperfection of the world. The teaching calls for realizing the need to accept the losses of loved ones and friends, letting go of trishna (thirst for existence). Parinirvana Day meditations provide enlightenment to recently deceased people to help them with the transition to other dimensions and support their souls. Buddhists believe that only Buddha Shakyamuni, who died at the age of 81, was able to achieve Parinirvana. Thanks to a high degree of awareness and spiritual practices, he emerged from the chain of rebirths - the wheel of Samsara. Buddha performed polygamy supernatural deeds because. reached the State of Highest Awakening. Every believer should strive for this, and meditation and other practices performed on Parinirvana Day should help him.

According to the folk calendar, Fedor the Memorial Day is celebrated on February 8 (the old style date is January 26). The name of the holiday is taken from the church calendar - honoring the memory of St. Theodore the Studite, who opposed the heresy of the iconoclasts. The brilliant education and oratory of Theodore (8th century) helped defend the rights of admirers of icons of Christian churches. But the emperor sent Theodore into exile, from which he emerged a few years later. The intercessor became a monk in Sakudion, and then earned the rank of presbyter and abbot. After returning from yet another imperial persecution, Theodore was given control of the Studite monastery. Despite difficult trials, the saint was devoted to the Lord all his life and served him, doing many good deeds. The peasants prayed to Saint Feodor, asking him to cure chest pain. But among the people, the day of Fyodor the memorial had mystical events. Residents believed that the dead missed their homes and relatives, and on Fyodor the Memorial Day their souls returned to earth and visited their families. Souls forgotten by relatives were especially active, for whom they forgot to light a candle in the temple and go to their graves. There were rituals that protected from the dead souls of ancestors. First, they called the deacon into the house to read a prayer service, sprinkled holy water in the corners, and drew crosses on the jambs of windows and doors. Among herbal remedies, hanging branches of rowan, thistle, juniper and nettle helped. They drove away annoying souls by throwing a horse bridle or a stone at them. But there were also those who wanted to meet with their deceased relatives; they fasted for twelve Fridays to meet. Peas played a special role at Fyodor the memorial. They rolled it around the bowl and listened to the ringing sound - if it rings loudly, it means there will be frost in the spring, and this is fraught with a bad summer harvest. If the peas rolled quietly, spring snowfalls awaited, protecting the fields from hypothermia and damage to crops. Peas were sometimes used to remove warts or other skin diseases. And ill-wishers used it, causing damage. The weather for Fyodor the memorial showed similar weather conditions for spring. Rodents emerging from the snow foreshadowed warming. A wolf howl was heard before the approaching frosts.

A simple coin toss helps you stop doubting and stop endlessly weighing the pros and cons of a situation. Sometimes solving a problem requires a random choice of one of two options. A coin, for example, is used by the referee of a football match to determine which team will kick the ball into play.

Orthodox holidays on February 8:

Memorial Day of St. Xenophon of Constantinople

Memorial Day of St. Simeon the Old