Today there are more than 124 million people in the world who have lost the ability to see or were born blind to this world. For them, there are many technical devices that help them navigate in space: traffic lights that announce with a voice the time until the light turns green or red, special telephones. There are specially trained animals - guide dogs that help blind people overcome their daily journey, for example, from work to home or to the hospital. An interesting fact is that guide dogs helped people who lost their ability to see many hundreds of years ago. At first these were isolated cases, one of them was described in a poem from the 16th century, and at the beginning of the 20th century a special school was opened where dogs were trained to help the blind. Of course, we cannot completely make life easier for people without the ability to see, but progress does not stand still - medicine is developing today, and it is becoming more and more likely for people to retain their sight. People who have lost their sight today can read, write and perform other activities. Many people get jobs doing both physical and intellectual work. This was not always the case - the first school in the world for the blind appeared in 1784. It happened in Paris, thanks to a caring teacher - Valentin Gayuy. At his own expense, without financial support from the government, he opened a school in his own home - where at first 11 blind children studied. Later, Gayuy was invited to Russia, to St. Petersburg - where in 1807 an institute for blind people was opened using his methods. It must be said that Haüy developed an entire teaching methodology - starting with a special relief font: uncial, which was replaced in 1829 by Louis Braille. In addition, he produced special books and atlases, and later his students helped him with this - all so that blind adults and children could exist in our world as comfortably as possible. Every year, on November 13 - on this day Valentin Gayuy was born - the whole world celebrates the International Day of the Blind. On this day, in many countries around the world, public attention is drawn to the problems of these people, and presentations of various technological discoveries are held. They remember famous doctors who help fight eye diseases, teachers who teach people who have lost their sight to read and write. Of course, a lot has been done in more than 200 years, but it is still not possible to completely solve the problems of these people and adapt them to life. Not every city has schools for blind children, let alone small villages or regional centers. In lagging countries, blind people are left to their own devices. Think for a second - what it’s like not to see the world - flowers, the sun, the smile of a child, not to see the play of color, not to be able to enjoy painting, understand how these people live - they do not demand pity for themselves, they have learned to live with this peculiarity of theirs . Perhaps an example of such a life will reconcile someone with their own failures. Let us add that there are also days in the calendar that call on society not to forget about people with disabilities - these are International White Cane Day - celebrated on October 15, International Day of the Deaf (the last Sunday of September) and International Day of Persons with Disabilities - celebrated on December 3.

World Kindness Day is a relatively young holiday, but very quickly gaining popularity all over the world. World Kindness Day began its countdown on November 13, 1998; the opening of an international conference on issues of kindness was scheduled for this autumn date. Representatives of the countries of the New and Old World gathered in Japan, where the World Kindness Movement was created a year earlier. The main tenets of the movement are set out in the Declaration of Kindness. This is an official document that addresses people from all corners of the Earth and raises the question of an urgent global problem, expressed in an acute shortage of such a natural quality for humans as kindness. In the pursuit of success, in building a career, society forgets about the humanity of relationships. From a very young age, children are taught to compete, expressed in the pursuit of superiority, using others. Kindness is considered a weakness. The concepts of mutual assistance, friendly disposition, and the beauty of good deeds are being squeezed out of the mass consciousness. As a symbol of World Kindness Day, the artist from France Orel proposed an image of an open heart. This is exactly how the organizers of the movement propose to communicate with each other: with open hearts, without hidden thoughts, with a desire to do good. Interestingly, scientists confirm the benefits of doing good deeds for improving health. Scientific experiments have found that good-natured people live longer and experience greater pleasure from the years they live. Emotional elation accompanies the awareness of the opportunity to be useful, causing the production of serotonin, a hormone that can significantly lift your mood. You can become a like-minded person in this movement using the Internet, where organizers share their experiences and inform about ongoing actions around the world. Celebration events include a wide variety of activities. Sometimes these are large-scale events to help those in need. But more often these are small acts that you can do on your own, for example, saying pleasant compliments, presenting a flower, offering a hug, feeding a stray animal, and so on. In 2009, Kindness Day was held for the first time in Moscow, where participants joined hands and formed a huge circle, showing their solidarity and involvement in the global kindness movement. Gradually, this tradition is gaining momentum, involving more and more cities and open hearts to participate.

The radiation, chemical and biological defense troops (RCBZ) represent a special type of military units designed to ensure the protection of weapons, personnel, civilians and the environment from the damaging factors of the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Chemical brigades appeared in Russia during the First World War, when the German side first used chemical weapons. The main task of chemists at that time was to warn of possible gas attacks from the enemy and train soldiers in the use of personal protective equipment. In the Red Army, by order of November 13, 1918, the first units of chemical defense troops were formed. Officially, this day is considered the professional holiday of employees of this branch of the military. During the Great Patriotic War, chemical forces were widely used and developed. The main functions of chemical units were to protect personnel from possible chemical attacks, smoke camouflage of objects and the use of flamethrower weapons. It was the presence of these troops in the Soviet Union and their readiness to carry out measures to protect against toxic substances that restrained the German command from starting a chemical war. The fighting in Afghanistan became a real baptism of fire for the RCBZ units, whose task was to use offensive weapons in the form of rocket-propelled infantry flamethrowers and heavy flamethrower multiple launch rocket systems. The experience of military operations on the territory of this mountainous republic made significant adjustments to the tactics of conducting military operations by this branch of the military. It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of the personnel of the RCBZ troops in eliminating the consequences of the terrible accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. More than 40 percent of the entire group employed in the disaster zone were chemical troops. The main tasks facing them were: treating the area with decontaminating substances; provision of monitoring and radiation reconnaissance instruments, assessment of the radiation situation. This branch of special troops of the Russian Armed Forces today faces a wide range of tasks and functions. The first of them is to ensure the protection of Russian army personnel and the population from the damaging factors of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and reduce the impact of these factors on the environment. The other is chemical, biological and radiation reconnaissance of territories, taking measures to eliminate the consequences of accidents. These units are designed to carry out degassing, disinfection and decontamination of the territory and material resources in case of infection. There are units that carry out the task of safe storage and destruction of chemical weapons stored in special chemical arsenals of our country. The RKhBZ troops also include units and brigades whose task is to use camouflage protective smoke and offensive weapons in the form of rocket-propelled infantry flamethrowers and heavy flamethrower multiple launch rocket systems.

Data secrecy and encryption are used to maintain the confidentiality of information that is considered a state secret. For the first time, special measures to protect information from the sphere of military, economic, intelligence and foreign policy activities of the state officially began to be carried out under Peter I. During his reign in 1720 and 1724. decrees were issued “On keeping cases secret in boards and offices” and “On cases subject to secrecy.” The dissemination of secret information today, as hundreds of years ago, can cause significant material damage and reputational damage to the country. November 13 is the Day of the Service for the Protection of State Secrets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The holiday is timed to coincide with the release in 1918 of Order No. 217/33 of the Revolutionary Military Council on the creation of a unit at the General Staff for working with secret documents. Previously, various departments were involved in the creation of codes and keys that were used by all branches of the army, military districts and divisions. Since 1921, the Central Cipher Department of the Red Army Headquarters became responsible for this. In 1930, the process changed from manual to automatic: special equipment began to be used for encryption - the K-37 copying machine and the B-4 device. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the special unit of the General Staff of the Red Army accumulated extensive experience in creating hidden communications in the army and converting information using secret keys. Codebreakers worked in difficult conditions during the battles of Lake Khasan and the Khalkhil-Gol River (1938-1939), the battles of the Soviet-Finnish War, and while assisting the Spanish communists during the Civil War of 1936-1939. Thanks to 12,000 specialists, the command of the Red Army was provided with reliable and stable covert communications during the Second World War. Their work in compiling coded radio and telephone messages was distinguished by high accuracy, and their behavior was selfless. If a military unit was surrounded by the enemy, or the ship was sinking, Soviet cryptographers, first of all, thought about saving secret documents, and then their own lives. Since 1931, the Eighth Directorate (called a department until 1941) of the General Staff of the Armed Forces has been responsible for encoding and maintaining the secrecy of information. The division is ready for modern challenges associated with the development of digital technologies. Therefore, it suppresses any attempts of unauthorized access by foreign countries to secret data of the Russian Federation. The Eighth Directorate ensures the protection of information that is classified as a state secret: it is engaged in supervision and control of space radio links and other systems, encryption of information and engineering cryptographic analysis of security measures, maintenance of facilities with computer equipment, etc. The security of the state, its development in the economic, political, social and cultural spheres depend on the activities of employees. Specialists work in close cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, foreign intelligence, FSB and other authorities. Colleagues and relatives congratulate all professionals who work in the Eighth Directorate on November 13 on the Day of the Service for the Protection of State Secrets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Many styles and genres of modern music are a combination of jazz, rock, hip-hop, country, blues, folk and other styles. One of them, symphonic metal, appeared in the late 1990s thanks to the Swedish group Therion. The compositions of her album Theli successfully combine the frantic rhythm of rock, basic orchestration and female vocals imitating operatic singing with male growling, bowed, percussive, woodwind and brass instruments. Symphonic metal owes its appearance to Scandinavian mythology, Viking metal and the Goth subculture. Following Therion, other performers began to compose music in this genre: Nightwish and Epica, Within Temptation and Xandria, Theater of Tragedy and The Gathering, the mega-popular Metallica and Scorpions. In Russia, symphonic metal is represented by the work of "Aria", "The Light Goes Out", Cathársis, Luna Aeterna, WelicoRuss and a number of other groups. Typically, musicians perform in Gimp suits - special suits made of leather and latex, which are used in BDSM practices. Lead singers and other band members often choose medieval or Victorian-era clothing, combining concerts with theatrical performances and underpinning their performances with philosophical concepts. The songs written in the style of symphonic metal are based on the personal experiences of the authors, religious and mystical stories, historical dramas, myths and fantasy. The albums of bands performing in the symphonic metal genre are reminiscent of operas and epic poems. Symphony orchestras and choirs are often involved in recording discs. The first album of the founder of the genre, the band Therion, was released in 1996. In the mid-2000s, this type of heavy metal became one of the most widespread in central and northern Europe. In the USA, Kamelot, Semphony X and Trans-Siberian Orchestra work in this style. Representatives of the musical direction on the modern stage are Exit Eden and Phantasma from Austria, Italian Embrace of Disharmony, Taiwanese Chthonic and Japanese Jupiter. A holiday has been established in honor of one of the syncretic genres that arose at the intersection of classics, theater, steampunk and hard rock. November 13 is Symphonic Metal Day. In honor of Symphonic Metal Day, fans attend concerts of musical groups, organize themed parties at home or in clubs. At meetings with like-minded fans, symphonic metal fans listen to old and new compositions that combine orchestral harmonics with rock, death metal melodies, high-pitched female vocals, growling growls and screaming screams.

Autumn Shawl Day

It turns out that the sausage also has its own birthday. The holiday is celebrated annually on November 13th. This day was chosen for a reason - on November 13, 1805, the sausage product, popular all over the world, was made and prepared for the first time. The “father” of the aromatic meat dish is considered to be Johann Laner, an ordinary butcher from Vienna. The recipe for the world-famous dish turned out to be as simple as anything ingenious: Laner mixed minced pork and beef in approximately equal proportions, and also added aromatic spices to taste. This is interesting: A real Vienna sausage contains more than just pork. The composition includes fresh lard, ice and spices - the correct proportion of these components gives the delicacy an unusual juiciness. It is also customary to smoke the product with beech wood smoke, only after which the meat dish is cooked. In the Bavarian town of Hasseldorf there is a monument to Laner, which was erected by grateful descendants. Next to the monument there is an accompanying plaque that describes in detail the history of the creation of the familiar meat product. The monument itself is quite unusual and attracts the attention of tourists - Laner stands with his hand outstretched, in it he holds a fork with a speared meat delicacy. Mustard was chosen as the sauce - it was depicted so realistically that tourists strive to take pictures in front of the monument. It turns out that there are also sausages for vegetarians - the composition includes vegetables, ground beans, sprouted wheat, bran, and seaweed. Sweet sausages for serving for dessert contain condensed milk, finely crumbled cookies, raisins and nuts. It's very simple - buy some unusual sausages, the flavors of which you have never tried before. For example, with cheese, with ketchup, with Provençal herbs, etc. Boil them, serve them beautifully along with the sauce, and invite friends. Be sure to tell them the history of this popular delicacy - this can spark an interesting conversation. You can cook a hot dog - this dish is simply impossible to imagine without sausage in the composition. Improvisation is encouraged - you shouldn’t limit yourself to bread and sausage. You can and should add onions fried until crispy, pickles, ketchup and mayonnaise. If possible, you can plan a tourist trip to the homeland of the meat delicacy. In Germany and Austria, sausage is a national dish; more than a thousand variations of the popular product have been invented here. Debrecen ones with hot paprika, as well as Frankfurt ones with horse meat are considered exclusive.

According to the folk calendar in Russia, November 13th marks the holiday of Spiridon and Nicodemus. It received its name from the names of saints who became famous for their monastic feats. The two monks met in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery when Pimen was the abbot. Spiridon came to the monastery as a novice and was assigned to monastic work - baking prosphora (bread for the Divine Liturgy), where Nicodemus was already working. Over the next 30 years, the novices honestly fulfilled their duties, accompanying their work with prayers and reading psalms. One day, while baking prosphora, the oven caught fire, Saint Spyridon was not at a loss and, with the help of his robe, stopped the fire. Having put out the fire, the monks were surprised to discover that the fire did not touch the saint’s robe. In Rus', people also called November 13 the day of matitsa - this is the central ceiling beam, which is the basis for the roof. The word “matitsa” has the same root as the word “mother”; it is an integral part of any home. On this day it was important to gather all family members under the matitsa; it was believed that this would bring good luck and prosperity. Depending on the region of our country, hunters and fishermen celebrated their professional holiday on Nikodim and Spiridon. Without fail, despite the weather conditions, they went out for prey; women prepared a delicious lunch or dinner from fish, rabbit meat and other animals at home. All this was reflected in folk signs and sayings, for example, the first catch was necessarily donated to the temple or sold, and candles were lit in the church with the money received; if the fishermen had a fight that day, then in winter there would be a bad bite. The peasants on Nikodim and Spiridon were engaged in farming - it was necessary to move poultry into winter buildings, select the weakest chickens, which most likely would not survive the winter, for slaughter. They made cutlets from poultry meat, stuffed it into pies, stuffed and baked whole carcasses. According to signs, they predicted the weather for the near future: if a bullfinch sings on Nikodim and Spiridon, then frosts should soon be expected, but the chirping of sparrows marked good warm weather. The bear's den in the forest was used to determine the river's flood in the spring: if it was located on a hill, then there would certainly be a flood.

Govardhan Puja in India

Orthodox holidays November 13:

Memorial Day of the Hieromartyr Archpriest Ioann Kochurov

Memorial Day of Saints Spyridon and Nikodim, prosphora makers of Pechersk

Memorial Day of the Holy Apostles from the 70th Stachius, Amplia, Urvana, Narcissus, Appellius and Aristobulus