On February 19, the international community celebrates World Marine Mammal Day or Whale and Dolphin Day. A document signed in 1986 banned whaling. For ecologists, this date is considered Whale Day and Marine Mammal Protection Day. From this day on, there is a ban on both whale hunting and meat trading. Whale fishing is permitted only for scientific purposes in Japan, but since whale meat can often be found in Japanese restaurants and butcher shops, environmentalists question the appropriateness of the permit issued to this country. Public and environmental organizations annually hold events dedicated to the protection of marine life. Ecologists raise pressing issues in scientific circles about the conservation of whales and dolphins, and hold demonstrations that attract the attention of government officials and other interested people to the environmental problem. The problem of protecting other aquatic mammals, of which there are currently only 119 species left on the planet, is often brought up for discussion. The extermination of marine animals, which has continued for centuries, has led to the fact that many of them are on the verge of extinction and are now listed in the Red Book. The decrease in the number of whales and other mammals poses a threat to the biological balance of the ecosystem of the World Ocean, since they are one of the links in the food chain participating in the cycle of substances. Some countries violate the ban and continue to kill animals. In addition, human activity also makes a negative contribution to the decline in whale numbers. Marine oil production and, as a consequence, water pollution entails large losses of mammals. In the Russian Federation, the Day for the Protection of Whale and Dolphins began to be celebrated in 2002. This is of great importance for the country, since the seas are home to dozens of endangered species of whales, dolphins, seals and fur seals.

This service was formed more than three hundred years ago in order to promote the cultural and spiritual development of military personnel. Currently, the service reports directly to the General Staff and provides education and training for musicians and conductors for military bands, who always take an active part in parades, reviews and other special events.

Every year on February 19, Russia celebrates the Day of Ornithologists - specialists involved in the study of birds. The term ornithology was first used in the 19th century. And the Italian naturalist Ulysses Aldrovandus contributed to this. Among the pioneers who tried to summarize all the available data about birds is Aristotle, a famous philosopher and thinker from Ancient Greece. A colossal contribution to the development of ornithology was made by such personalities as de Buffon, a naturalist and mathematician from France, as well as Carl Linnaeus, an outstanding Swedish scientist, physician and naturalist. Among Russian figures, it is worth highlighting S. Buturlin (traveler), V. Bianki (famous writer, author of children's stories), N. Gladkov (zoogeographer), P. Serebrovsky (scientist), etc. The history of the holiday dates back to 1983, when the All-Union Ornithological Association at the Academy of Sciences opened. This event occurred on February 19, hence the day of celebration. Today it is celebrated in many countries that were part of the USSR at that time. At a meeting of society members held on February 19, 1983, a proposal was put forward to make this date Ornithologists' Day. In 1992, the association received the name of the famous zoologist M. Menzbir, who is the founder of domestic ornithology. From that time on, its full name began to sound like the Menzbeer Ornithological Society, in short form ROSIP. This organization belongs to the category of voluntary non-profit associations, the main task of which is to preserve wild bird species and their habitats. In addition, on the territory of the Russian Federation there is the Russian Bird Conservation Union, which acts as a public environmental organization. The members of the association are qualified ornithologists and ordinary bird lovers. They call their main task the popularization of the science of ornithology, the study and protection of birds. This holiday date is associated with many other dates dedicated to the world of birds and specialists who study them: Bird Day, celebrated every year on April 1, Migratory Bird Day, celebrated annually on the second Saturday of May and has an international level. On February 19, scientific congresses, environmental educational competitions, all kinds of seminars and large-scale events are held in many cities and towns of the Russian Federation. Russian ornithologists take part in international meetings where they exchange their acquired experience with foreign colleagues. So, for example, in 2018, an all-Russian ornithological meeting was held for the first time in Tver.

A book is the best gift, and on February 19 in Armenia it is considered the most relevant gift. Why? Because on this day in the country they celebrate such an unusual, but slightly sentimental holiday as Book Giving Day. The initiator of the holiday was the Writers' Union of Armenia, the government took this initiative positively, therefore, after the corresponding decree, another one appeared on the list of national holidays. This solemn date was celebrated for the first time in 2008 and since then, every year throughout the country, Book Giving Day is celebrated, which becomes more and more popular every year. With the development of high technology, it seems that buying a printed book has become unnecessary, because you can find and download any e-book online. Meanwhile, our brain’s perception of the same information in electronic and traditional form is different, so reading a book, especially for the younger generation, is not only interesting, but also useful. One of the days of February to celebrate the holiday was not chosen by chance, because on this day in the 19th century a talented person was born. Hovhannes Tumanyan is a famous Armenian poet, he wrote the literary works “Anush”, “Maro”, “Sako from Lori” and many others. It is impossible to find an Armenian who does not know who he is. Every city in Armenia has a Tumanyan street, schools are named after him, and the poet’s portrait is depicted on the 5,000 dram banknote. Hovhannes Tumanyan lived an interesting and eventful life, and was friends with many famous writers. Throughout his long life, he was not indifferent to the fate of the Armenian people, during the Armenian genocide he helped refugees, later he advocated a truce, for all his small exploits Hovhannes Tumanyan was awarded the title of Poet of all Armenians. On Book Giving Day, of course, it is customary to give books, but in addition, on February 19, bookstores hold holiday promotions, schools hold creative evenings dedicated to the holiday, and library collections are replenished with new copies. Although the holiday is considered a national holiday in Armenia, the tradition of giving books would become relevant anywhere in the world, so if you pass by a bookstore on February 19, be sure to visit it to buy a gift for yourself and your loved ones.

February 19 is International Tug of War Day. This funny holiday is dedicated to a rather serious sport, which was previously included in the list of Olympic disciplines. At many holidays and events where competitions are held, people are still divided into teams and grab the ends of the rope to find out which of them is stronger. This sport has a very interesting history. The oldest image of people pulling a rope in different directions is over 4,000 years old. An Egyptian fresco that has survived to this day proves that similar competitions were held in ancient times, but earlier tug-of-war had little to do with sports. In fact, it was not even a competition, but rather a sacred rite. The peoples of Asia have developed a very interesting attitude towards tug-of-war. They often performed this ritual in an attempt to predict the future. One team could represent good, and the other could represent evil. If the first one won, then it was possible to live in peace, because a cloudless future lay ahead. When victory was on the side of the second team, it was worth preparing for trouble. By analogy, one group of participants could personify rain, and the second - drought. Such rituals were carried out in Burma to determine the onset of the rainy season, as evidenced by documentary sources. Those who performed the ritual believed that the outcome of the ritual competition depended not on their own capabilities, but on the intervention of higher powers. Ancient China even preserved a legend about the invention of this game. According to the Chinese, tug of war appeared at the beginning of time, when there was nothing on earth yet, and the Sun and Moon argued with each other about how much light and darkness to give to this world. In Ancient China, as in other parts of the planet, such a competition was used as a training game for future warriors, which trained their strength and endurance. Ropes were not always used in this competition. For example, in Korea, as in Ancient Egypt, participants simply grabbed those who stood in front by the belts. The team captains joined hands. In Afghanistan, a board was used instead of a rope, and the Eskimos pulled a short rope in a sitting position. As the game became more popular, it began to have certain rules. 16 players take part in the tug of war, 8 on each team. Participants are selected from the same weight category so that no one has an advantage. The length of the rope must be at least 33.5 meters. The main task of the competitors is to pull the rope in their direction four meters beyond the central mark. A team can also win a technical victory if the opponent gets a foul, that is, one of the players on the other team falls or sits on the ground. At the beginning of the last century, tug of war reached a new level. It was officially made a sports discipline, which was included in the list of Olympic sports. Only men took part in the competition. Tug of war was on the program of the first Olympics for twenty years. Although not many teams took part in the competition, it had good potential. Between 1900 and 1920, the sport was represented at five Olympics. The palm most often went to athletes from Great Britain. There is no doubt that the Russian heroes could have provided them with worthy competition, but, alas, the discipline was removed. Already in the new century, the IOC seriously considered the idea of ​​returning tug-of-war to the program, but for now it remains a sport for amateurs. In Russia, many people like this game. It is quite often carried out during public events. We also organize open tug-of-war championships in different weight categories.

The Internet is a valuable tool. Not only does it allow us to connect with others around the world, learn and shop from the comfort of home, and find information on almost any topic under the sun, the rapid advancement of technology does not come without risk. Besides identity theft and harmful viruses, modern technology makes it quite easy to “steal” people’s work. February 19th marks Plagiarism Prevention Day, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of "tech scams." The Oxford Dictionary defines plagiarism as “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.” Freelance writer and newspaper columnist Jace Shoemaker-Galloway created the annual event after discovering repeated instances of "writers" publishing her work without permission or attribution. It is clear that plagiarism is an integrity killer. This causes irreversible damage to the quality of the content and the reputation of the author. So what can you do about it? Plagiarism Prevention Day, celebrated in mid-February, should be one of the most important dates in the academic calendar for all students, teachers and academia at large. Unfortunately, plagiarism is one of the greatest threats to authenticity, authorship and integrity today as it has become a common occurrence in every university and school. Therefore, teachers are no longer surprised by the amount of plagiarism in student work. On the other hand, they are looking for ways to prevent plagiarism in the classroom and are installing additional software to automate plagiarism checking. There are two ways to solve the problem of plagiarism: teaching students the principles of academic integrity and creating specialized plagiarism detection services. One way to raise awareness about the problem of plagiarism and its prevention is to celebrate Plagiarism Prevention Day on February 19th. This is an effective method to encourage the academic community to think about the topic of integrity.

Fun Holidays - Color Mixing Day

Every year, since 1993, Kyrgyzstan celebrates Financial Police Officer Day. This holiday was established by the Government of the Republic in order to maintain attention to the significance of the activities of employees. Since 1993, the body has been part of the tax police under the Ministry of Finance. But in 2008, the unit was reorganized and became an independent service - a law enforcement agency. The effectiveness of the work of the financial police is confirmed by many crimes being investigated, identified and solved. Economic security of the Republic, protection of business, entrepreneurship, payment of taxes, identification of crimes of various categories throughout the country or individuals - all these are the tasks of financial police officers. The financial police also has a separate hotline, which every citizen of the country can contact. Employees undertake inspections of various entities, are on duty in places of suspicious financial activity, and investigate economic incidents in various areas, from small bribes to officials to large frauds planned at the level of large enterprises and financial structures. Based on the results of the past decades, since 1993, thanks to employees of the financial police, more than a thousand criminal cases have been initiated based on identified violations. Financial Police Officer Day in Kyrgyzstan has been celebrated on February 19, since 1993. During this day, structural units reward those employees whose work and determination helped to identify and suppress violations in the economic sphere. Also, in honor of the holiday, concert events and meetings with outstanding representatives of the service are held in the cities of Kyrgyzstan, where the importance of the activities of financial police officers in the framework of the development of the state is discussed.

Among the holidays in Bulgaria, the day of February 19, dedicated to the national hero-liberator Vasil Levski, stands out. Like many revolutionaries, Vasil became famous under a pseudonym. Levsky is a nickname given to the hero by his friends for his lion's courage in battles with Turkish troops. According to another version, Vasil was given the nickname back in his school years, when, after arguing with fellow villagers, the boy jumped over a deep ravine. At birth, the full name of the future “apostle of freedom” sounded like Vasil Ivanov Kunchev. He was born into a simple peasant family, but received a school education, after which he entered a theological seminary and became a monk under the name Ignatius. Despite his successes in the spiritual field, Father Ignatius, at the age of 24, devoted his activities to the revolutionary movement and left the monastery. He joins the first Bulgarian legion and fights the Turks in Serbia, then acts in the territories of Romania and Bulgaria, calling on the people to resist Turkish oppression. Levsky gradually comes to the conclusion that the people of Bulgaria should rely only on their own strength, without expecting help from Serbia and Bulgarian emigrants. Vasil, having become a prominent figure in the Bulgarian Revolutionary Congress, visits the most remote places of the country, where he tirelessly promotes revolutionary sentiments, simultaneously arming the rebels from the people. For a long time, Levsky, thanks to conspiracy and the ability to transform, managed to elude the Turkish authorities. But at the end of 1872, during one of the operations, the brave revolutionary was captured by the police. After identification, the arrested man was transported to Sofia for a judicial investigation, at which the native Kunchiv was sentenced to death by hanging. Without waiting for the shameful execution, Vasil smashed his head against the walls of his prison cell. The sentence was nevertheless carried out, and the body of the already dead Levsky was hanged on February 18, 1873. During the trial, Vasil did not give out any information about the participants in the Bulgarian liberation movement. The only thing he expressed to his accusers was the prophecy that after his death hundreds of avengers would come. Bulgaria was liberated at the end of the 19th century, when the troops of the Slav brothers from Orthodox Russia entered the struggle for freedom of the Balkans.

Holidays in Romania - Constantin Brancusi Day

The third Monday in February each year falls on a US federal holiday called Washington's Birthday, but is known to others as Presidents' Day. In 1968, American head of state Lyndon Johnson signed a single bill creating three national holidays, which would be celebrated on three designated Mondays each year. The new holidays came into effect on January 1, 1971. This bill added three days off for federal employees. These holidays were: Washington's Birthday, set on the third Monday in February; Memorial Day is on the last Monday in May and Veterans Day is celebrated on the fourth Monday in October. In 1968, there was an attempt to change the name of the holiday from "Washington's Birthday" to "Presidents' Day", but this part of the bill did not pass. The term "Presidents' Day" arose more for marketing purposes in business. On this day, companies offered to save money by making discounts in all stores and business centers in order to attract consumers. Until 1971, the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) and George Washington (February 22nd) were celebrated as separate holidays. Federal structures such as schools and offices were closed for two days. Both Washington and Lincoln were great leaders. The former helped bring the country together during the war, and the latter helped bring it together after the civil war. Chief Executive Nixon ordered all presidential birthdays to be celebrated on one day in February. According to the new bill, on Lincoln's birthday, all federal employees returned to their jobs, and students began training. Each state regulates which federal holiday to observe. For example, some states in the southern part of the country do not recognize Lincoln due to the consequences of the Civil War. Jefferson Davis, who was the head of the Confederate States of America, is more revered here. An additional dilemma was the name of the holiday itself. In the mid-1980s, many Americans changed Washington's Birthday to Presidents Day. This was fully solidified in the early 2000s, when more than half of the 50 states officially changed the name on their calendars.

Heritage Day in Canada

Holidays of Turkmenistan - National Flag Day

February 19 (February 6, old style) according to the folk calendar is the day of Vukol Vealnik. The name of the day is taken from the Orthodox date of honoring the Venerable Vukol of Smyrna, who became a disciple of John the Theologian. From his youth, Vukol differed from others in his righteousness and chastity. For this, John the Theologian awarded the monk the position of bishop in the church of the city of Smyrna. Vukol led his flock along the true path and protected them from the attacks of the pagans. He also managed to convert hundreds of pagans to Christians. A myrtle tree was planted on his grave, and the Lord gave him healing power from illnesses. Popularly, cows began to calve from Vukol, hence the day was nicknamed Calf Day. The calves themselves, born in February, were called beetles. The owners turned to Saint Vukol, asking for a safe calving for the cow and the preservation of her babies. They also asked the brownie to take care of the newborn cubs. They prepared a treat for him from milk and crumbled bread and placed it near the stove for the night. The peasants considered the cow to be the nurse of the house and rejoiced when she brought two babies of the same suit. This meant that prosperity would come to the family. But the mismatched calves on the contrary brought trouble. To protect calves and their mothers from diseases, the owners fumigated their animals and barns with thyme. After calving, housewives counted 12 milk yields, when colostrum passed and the milk became normal for consumption, and cooked porridge from it. Then she was put on hay and oats, hoping for successful calving in the future and strong, healthy calves. Households were treated to porridge, the hay and grain were given to the cattle, and the film from the prepared porridge was fed to the calf. The signs on Vukol Vealnik were associated with cattle. If they saw that the cow was lying down with her head to the west, they expected an early calving. It was forbidden to stroke the calf on the back so that it would not get sick. Warm weather foreshadowed poor fishing, but the warmer it became outside, the cooler March was expected. Severe cold occurred ahead of a windy and rainy spring.

Holidays of India - Shivaji Jayanti

Orthodox holidays on February 19:

Memorial Day of Saint Photius I of Constantinople

Memorial Day of St. Vukol of Smyrna

Memorial Day of Saints Barsanuphius and John