On February 28, the winter period of the year ends, and with it the time of great festivities associated with secular holidays and church celebrations. But this should not be a reason for sadness. On the contrary, at the end of winter you need to smile and get ready to greet the first day of spring. The awakening of nature will soon begin: the sun will shine brightly, the thaw will come and the birds will fly in. Spring is already on the doorstep, so don’t pay attention to dirt, slush, gloomy skies, drops and puddles. Invite all your friends to celebrate Winter Day on February 28th! In honor of this funny holiday, which, of course, is not official, many poems have been composed. They are sent in the form of postcards or SMS to loved ones: On gloomy and cloudy February days, we all really miss the sun and warmth, especially spiritual warmth. Therefore, any sign of attention from a friend or loved one will be received with joy and gratitude. In honor of February 28 and the departure of winter, poetic lines filled with sincere care and wishes for happiness are heard: Spring is a time of loss of physical strength, fatigue, spleen and depression. Therefore, on the eve of her arrival, you need to support your body with vitamins and saturate yourself with positive emotions. On February 28, saying goodbye to winter, it is customary to treat loved ones to tangerines, the symbol of the New Year holidays, oranges, persimmons and other orange fruits. According to the observations of psychologists, it helps to cheer up emotionally, creates a feeling of fun, whets the appetite and stimulates mental activity. The Slavs saw off the harsh and cold winter with dancing and singing at folk festivals. They glorified Yarilo and other gods, seeking their favor and performing special rituals for the arrival of the new year, because for our ancestors it came on March 1st. The tradition of a magnificent farewell to winter had a sacred meaning and was of special importance among other sacred actions. A cheerful farewell to the cold and frost on February 28, illuminated by the joyful expectation of warmth and spring renewal of nature, is marked by the celebration of Maslenitsa. We inherited this ancient Slavic holiday from pagan culture. Traditionally, he drove out winter and gave the Earth to the power of the beautiful spring Jadbog. He was the personification of the sun, so seeing off frost and snow was accompanied by eating the symbol of the luminary - golden pancakes, as well as ritual cookies in the shape of larks. On February 28, everyone who cares about the culture of our ancestors happily takes part in celebrations stylized as ancient folk festivals. Indeed, according to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, a warm spring, a rich harvest and other benefits, depending on the favor of the forces of nature, will definitely come if people correctly celebrate the Day of the End of Winter.

The most valuable capital at all times in the development of human society has been people. I.V. said this in his speech to graduates of military academies on May 4, 1935. Stalin: “Personnel decide everything!” This rule guided the state authorities of the young Country of Soviets long before the speech of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Therefore, on February 28, 1924, the first units for working with personnel appeared in the OGPU, a structure formed under the NKVD. The task of political administration was to control the departments of the Central Committee of the party in the union republics of the USSR, certify police officers, suppress banditry and counter-revolutionary protests. Since 1941, a unit of the OGPU began to investigate violations of official discipline and socialist legality. The Supreme Court supervised its activities. On February 28, in honor of the emergence of the unit, the Day of Establishment of the Personnel Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was established. The head of the People's Commissariat of Supply, Anastas Mikoyan, said in 1932: “Everyone, even the communists, steals. It is easier for a communist to steal than for another. He has a party card, there is less suspicion against him.” Corruption penetrated into all government bodies of the USSR. The Soviet police were no exception. This fact dictated the need to establish units within the Ministry of Internal Affairs for working with personnel, which operate to this day. The solemn date in the calendar of professional holidays for department employees appeared in 2000. 5 years earlier, in December 1995, in pursuance of Presidential Decree No. 954, the Department of Internal Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was created, and the formation of subordinate bodies in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation began. The tasks of the established personnel inspections included the prevention, suppression and detection of offenses among employees, the organization of state protection of current and dismissed workers, as well as members of their families. The same goals were pursued by the apparatus and the position of special representative under the NKVD of the USSR, which became in 1934-1941. predecessors of the GUSB. The responsibilities of the unit included carrying out special assignments related to the verification of internal affairs officers and the investigation of offenses committed by them. During the war and after its end, these functions were performed by the Special Inspectorates of the Personnel Department of the NKVD of the USSR. In 2019, this oldest unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs celebrated its 95th anniversary. The work of personnel inspections served to improve the image of police officers in the eyes of society, and later of police officers who today guard law and order in the country. Employees of the unit are engaged in checking complaints from the population and opening cases in the presence of offenses for which disciplinary measures are taken. Paying tribute to the work of professionals, colleagues and relatives annually congratulate them on the Day of Establishment of the Personnel Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

People often fall asleep in the most unsuitable circumstances for rest - at the workplace, during a long meeting, in a cafe, park, subway or cinema. A Kabuki theater performance in Japan lasts more than 5 hours. Therefore, during performances, spectators not only actively eat, but also openly doze. In Japanese culture, it is generally accepted that inemuri (i.e., “to be present and asleep”) is a sign of hard work and fatigue due to the large amount of work performed. Satisfying the body's need for a good night's rest is very important for normal human functioning. That's why February 28th is Public Sleep Day. Funny from the point of view of the rules of command in society, Public Sleeping Day is celebrated all over the world. However, the tradition of daytime rest is rooted in the traditions of the Land of the Rising Sun. Its residents work hard (on average, their working day lasts 12-16 hours) and have little rest: despite 18 official vacation days a year, no Japanese take more than 5. About 40% of the country's citizens sleep less than 6 hours at night. All this can lead to the body being unable to cope with psycho-emotional and physical stress. Therefore, napping in Japan is encouraged as a way to restore strength and increase productivity. Of course, senior managers and company executives have more opportunities to take advantage of inemuri. Junior employees are more energetic and demonstrate their hard work more actively. For the Japanese, it is unacceptable to sleep in the presence of a boss, which cannot be said about a director dozing in front of a subordinate. This is considered the norm. The practice of inemuri allows you to kill two birds with one stone: for attending a seminar, conference or other work-related event, a Japanese can receive a bonus and at the same time sleep in a soft chair while the lecturer speaks. It is unknown what prompted the poet I. Brodsky to write “The Great Elegy to John Donne.” This poem by the Nobel laureate is a real hymn to sleep: Organizers of events dedicated to February 28 suggest celebrating the holiday with a short rest at the workplace or in the park, i.e. reboot and take a nap during the day for your pleasure. It’s not for nothing that both young children and experienced older people use this opportunity without a twinge of conscience. Yes, as you age, the number of hours of sleep at night decreases. But this does not mean that you need to give up daytime rest. Winston Churchill's longevity is a consequence, by the politician's own admission, of the fact that he "never stood when he could have been sitting, and never sat when he could have been lying down." The British Prime Minister got used to sleeping during parliamentary sessions, which did not negatively affect the intensity of his activities. Catherine Deneuve admits that she owes her unfading beauty over the years to daytime sleep. The great French actress dozed in her trailer between film shoots. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the establishment of a funny holiday on February 28 - Public Sleeping Day, which is a good occasion to remind about the importance of wakefulness and proper sleep as an integral part of human life.

Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli, Giorgio Armani... These outstanding fashion designers, who influenced European fashion of the 20th century, were, first of all, tailors who created their masterpieces in the sewing industry. typewriter. One of its inventors, along with Barthelemy Thimonnier and Walter Hahn, is considered to be the American mechanic William Elias Howe, who received a patent for the technical device in 1846. Paying tribute to the important role of the sewing machine in the development of light industry, February 28 is celebrated as World Tailor's Day. During the celebration of World Tailor`s Day, professionals are honored - craftsmen who create new clothes or restore old ones. In Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. the most famous was the St. Petersburg tailor A.I. Katun. He sewed Fyodor Chaliapin and Alexander Kuprin, actors of the Imperial Theater and high-society princesses. Rubin Singer picked up the baton from him, whose customers were the top officials of the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 60s: Mikoyan, Voroshilov, Khrushchev, Molotov, Furtseva... Tailors customize clothing items to ensure that the items fit the clients perfectly. With their help, images of stars of European and world cinema were created. Thus, the son of Rubin Singer, the tailor Alik, who emigrated from the USSR, quickly acquired famous clients in the West - actress Whoopi Goldberg, writer Danielle Steele. Among the customers was Simone Signoret. For Yves Montand's wife, Singer developed a special jacket cut for classic suits. Simone Signoret did not wear dresses as a matter of principle, because... was the owner of a funny and somewhat absurd figure. If you look at the actress from the front, she seemed to be an absolutely slender woman, but in profile her large belly was very clearly outlined. In order to hide it, Singer came up with the cut of the jacket. But the tailor’s relationship with Catherine Deneuve did not work out. The actress, whose sister tragically passed away, was not going through the best period of her life, and therefore made an unfavorable impression on Singer. Another famous tailor who has sewed stars from the world of politics and cinema is Martin Greenfield, who first picked up a needle in Auschwitz. After World War II, he emigrated to the United States, where he founded a clothing factory. Maximilian Grunfeld's clients, as the Jewish tailor's real name sounds, include Presidents Dwight David Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Suits from Martin Greenfield Clothiers are an example of impeccable taste and high quality tailoring. The heroes of “Boardwalk Empire” and “Vinyl” by Scorsese, the films “The Great Gatsby”, “Black Mass” and other films shone on the screens in them. Amis Edwin Hardy, a British royal tailor, fought in Europe as a young man in the Belgian Resistance. He became well known among the establishment in London and throughout England after the end of the war for his elegant, classic suits for women. Hardy was the first to suggest holding a fashion show to music. His men's suits are worn by the characters from Stanley Kubrick's films 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. In 1955, Hardy became Queen Elizabeth II's personal assistant, receiving a knighthood two decades later for his distinguished services. The American tailor of Latvian origin, Jacob Davis, invented jeans, and the Austrian Franz Reichelt invented the “parachute raincoat.” The masters listed above are not as familiar to the general public as Roberto Cavalli or Christian Dior. But thanks to these famous and not so famous couturiers, the tailoring profession is considered the most important in the world of the fashion industry.

February 28th is a special day for Finland. This is the date of celebration in honor of the Karelian-Finnish folk epic "Kalevala". Ancient tales were recreated in the 19th century by the scientist Elias Lönrot from 50 songs, preserved in the peasant environment of Karelia. The content of the poem does not have a clear connected plot, characteristic of the world epic. There is also no connection between the Kalevala narrative and any historical events or personalities. The main characters of the poem act according to the laws of fairy tales and legends, where several storylines are intertwined according to Lönrot’s poetic plan. The first parts of the poem talk about the creation of the sky, luminaries and earth. Next, the airy maiden gives birth to a son, Vainamöinen, who is destined to become the main folk character of the Karelians. As befits a culture hero, Väinomöinen sows the land with barley and goes on incredible adventures. Carrying out an order from the beautiful maiden of the North, the hero meets the hero Ilmarinen, who is forging the magic mill Sampo. Another main character in the poem is the daring and brave sorcerer Lemminkäinen. Heroes obtain treasures, win the favor of beauties and fight monsters. The last song of the Kalevala tells about the birth of a miracle child to the virgin Maryatta. The boy is destined to become the Savior and surpass Väinömöinen in glory. A recognized hero says that the baby must be killed before the prophecy gains strength. But the newborn shames the hero, and Väinomöinen has to sail away in his shuttle, singing the last song. So the ancient heroes gave way to the new ruler of Karelia. Kalevala Day has a bright patriotic overtones, because it is combined with a celebration in honor of the Finnish flag. It was decided to hold the first holiday in 1860. Today is the official Day of Karelian and Finnish Cultures, which is accompanied by a costumed carnival procession. Heroes of the epic appear on the streets, sing songs, dance and act out stories from their glorious past.

Onisim Shepherd in the folk calendar is celebrated on February 28 (February 15, old style). The name of the day occurred according to the church date of honoring the memory of St. Onesimus, attributed to the 70 apostles. In the 1st century, Onesimus was a slave to the Christian Philemon. Having committed a bad deed and fearing the punishment of his master, Onesimus fled to Rome, where he was imprisoned. There the slave met the Apostle Paul, after which he was baptized and took the path of a Christian. When Saint Paul returned Onesimado back to his home, the owner, who knew Paul, set him free. The freed man devoted his life to preaching about Christianity and in his old age received the rank of bishop in Ephesus. Among the people, Saint Onesimus was considered the patron saint of sheep husbandry, for which he was called the Sheepfold. The owners of the sheep prayed to him for their good offspring and for their safety from disease. In clear weather, in the evening they performed a ritual to increase the number of livestock. To do this, the owners and the shepherd went out to the outskirts, bowed three times to the four cardinal directions, then clicked on the stars and read a special spell. The day was also called Zimobor. The reason for this was the ending days of winter; spring was practically felt in the air, but the weather was often cloudy and cold. The people began to see off the retreating winter, and the youth organized merry festivities. Housewives spent the morning preparing seeds for the upcoming season. They were taken out into the cold for hardening. It was believed that such a ritual would help young plants withstand sudden temperature changes in the spring. Women who worked on yarn exposed their best threads to the cold on Onesimus' day, believing that this would give them strength and evenness, and the fabric made from them would become lighter and softer. If a woman was offended by her husband and laid hands on her, she went to the healer for help. On this day, it was possible to read out conspiracies from aggressive or rude husbands in order to pacify their temper. Signs on Onesimus's day helped to find out the future. A sunset in red light meant an approaching snowstorm, and a clear month marked the continuing cold. Looking at the large icicles on the roofs, residents foreshadowed a long spring season. Rising water in reservoirs promised a successful harvest of hay in the summer. The abundance of stars in the sky predicted a good offspring for sheep.

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Orthodox holidays on February 28:

Every year on February 28, all Orthodox people celebrate in memory of the Vilna Icon of the Mother of God, painted by St. Luke. For a long time, the icon served as a family shrine of the Greek rulers reigning in the territory of Constantinople. The image earned fame thanks to its healing of the sick. Prayers were read before him, aimed at getting rid of serious illnesses. In the fall of 1472, Zoya Paleologus arrived in the Russian capital from Rome, taking the name Sophia immediately after the wedding procedure with the Moscow Prince Ivan. According to legend, it was she who transported the image to Moscow. A few years later, John III blessed his daughter Elena with this icon, who became engaged to Prince Alexander, who arrived from Lithuania. Subsequently, the shrine was moved to the Lithuanian capital Vilna, now Vilnius, where it received its name - Vilna. After the death of Elena, the icon was exhibited in the local cathedral, above the coffin of the deceased. When family relations with Moscow were weakened, Russian rulers repeatedly tried to return the image to their native land. This happened for the first time in 1569 during the Livonian military operations. Ivan the Terrible offered Tsar Sigismund 50 Lithuanian prisoners belonging to noble families for him. However, the king responded with a decisive refusal, since all the clergy did not want to lose this treasure. The next attempt to return the holy image to its homeland took place in 1655. After the fall of Vilna as a result of an attack by the army of ruler Alexei Mikhailovich, he ordered that all possible efforts be made to find and bring the shrine home. However, at that time the image had already been taken to the Koenigsberg monastery. After some period of time, the icon returned to Vilna, where it remained in the Prechistensky Cathedral until the mid-18th century. Later she was transported to the Holy Trinity Monastery. At that time it was Catholic property. The Prechistensky Cathedral became the property of the Uniates. Only in 1839 was it possible to return the monastery, along with the image, to the Orthodox community. From that moment on, the icon became a replacement for the Mother of God, called Ostrobramskaya. During the First World War, due to the risk of Lithuania being captured by German soldiers, Archbishop Tikhon, the future Patriarch of Russia, advised that all Orthodox icons, in particular the Vilna Icon, be returned to their homeland. In 1915 the shrine was delivered to the Donskoy Church. A few years later she disappeared without a trace under unclear circumstances. Until now, it has not been possible to find out its current location.

Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God of Dalmatia

Memorial Day of St. Euphrosyne of Alexandria

Memorial Day of St. Apostle Onesimus