Holidays March 13
National Elephant Day in Thailand
This holiday does not have an official status, but is one of the most significant events in Thailand, since the role of these animals for the country's inhabitants is extremely large. From ancient times, elephants were indispensable assistants to Thais: they helped people build temples and entire cities, fought along with soldiers in battles. Today, the country's economy rests mainly on elephants, because large and very smart animals so attract tourists. The most valuable are white elephants.
In honor of these gentle and incredibly powerful animals, Thai residents annually celebrate the holiday - the national day of the elephant. The event dedicated to elephants takes place on a specially prepared and equipped venue. Every visitor, including tourists, can watch the "sacred" creation of nature on this day. Animals of various ages, sizes and temperaments flaunt on the site. The heroes of the occasion appear before the public framed by colorful stones and jewelry.
Luxembourg Fire Festival
It is well known that the number 13 is mystical and the most successful for witchcraft rituals, which is why it so successfully defines the Sabbath of thirteen witches. Every year on March 13 in Luxembourg, the Burgzonndeg - pagan festival of fire. The holiday symbolizes the birth of the New Sun and is traditionally accompanied by many bonfires and lights, which according to legend help the spring to win the final victory over snowy, cold winds.
In the old days, young people decided to walk around the city and ask for straw to make a fire. By the way, his kindling was also accompanied by a certain rite. And now this duty is considered by people as entertainment, because observing a symbolic rite requires a lot of time.
March 13th in the folk calendar
Vasily Kapelnik
On March 13, people venerate St. Basil the Decapolite, the illustrious confessor. In Russia, Vasily brought pine branches into the hut, which have the ability to clean and disinfect the surrounding area. Healing tinctures that support the immune system and a cheerful mood were also prepared from them.
On the day of Vasily Kapelnik, as the peasants noticed, icicles from the roofs began to descend. “Vasily will come, and winter will cry,” people said about this. If the drops lasted all day until sunset, a good harvest was expected. The cry of rain on this day spoke of good summer. Pay attention to the process of melting circles under the trees: if the edges of the circles are steep, then spring will be cool; gentle edges testified to a protracted spring.
Historical events of March 13
March 13, 1781 - Discovery of the seventh planet - Uranus
The merit of the discovery of the green-blue giant of the solar system, Uranus, belongs to the English astronomer William Herschel. Everything happened during the scientist’s next observation of the night sky. Observing the constellation Gemini, Herschel noticed that one of the stars is relatively close, unlike the others. At first, the scientist took the giant planet for a comet, however, after some time, the astronomer realized that he was mistaken - the movement of the celestial body was atypical for a comet.
Having made several calculations, the researcher was astonished: in front of him was a previously undiscovered planet, and moreover, it, like all open planets of the inner solar system, rotated in orbit around a flaming star. The giant body was called George, in honor of the then ruling king. After some time, the green-blue giant was given another name - Uranus.
March 13, 1881 - Alexander the Second, Emperor of the Russian Empire, is killed
Alexander II was killed by a bomb launched by a member of the Executive Committee of the People’s Volunteers - terrorist Ignatius Grinevitsky. The emperor, who went down in history as the Liberator, did not receive the status of the Great, like Peter, but his reforms were truly great. During the coronation, Alexander pardoned the participants in the Polish uprising, in 1857 he liquidated the military settlements. In addition to the listed merits, Alexander also owns a number of important reforms for the development of the country and improvement of the peasant existence.
March 13, 1887 - Chester Greenwoot, a fifteen-year-old inventor, made the first antifreeze headphones, which were a wire frame, fur-lined in the ears (a careful grandmother tried). The teenager opened his own company to produce the much-needed part of the wardrobe. Throughout his life, Chester has created over a hundred useful inventions.
March 13, 1961 - Kurenev tragedy in Kiev
The tragedy that occurred in 1961 claimed, according to various estimates, from 1.5 to 2 thousand lives. On this day, a dam broke unexpectedly in the area of Babi Yar. The destruction of the structure began in the early morning, at about 7:00, and it broke through by 10:00. The mud wall the size of a 4-storey house rushed through the streets with unimaginable speed, demolishing buildings, cars and people. The tram depot, factory, city hospital and Spartak Stadium were also hit. Short circuits provoked the ignition of vehicles, many people were shocked.
According to experts, the dam could not withstand a large pressure of water. Her height was an order of magnitude lower than the standard. Moreover, the walls of the dam should have been made of concrete, not earth. The authorities in every possible way ignored the residents' request to rectify the dangerous situation, and this is what it turned into. It is hard to imagine how many people died in this nightmare, how many losses the country suffered.
Born on March 13
- In 1720 he was born Charles Bonnet - a great philosopher, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (thanks to the discovery of the phenomenon of parthenogenesis, the community of asexual reproduction, the evolutionary role of reproduction, etc.).
- In 1733 he was born Joseph Priestley - scientist, priest, discoverer of oxygen and ammonia. Pursued by the reactionaries, Priestley was forced to leave his homeland and leave for the United States.
- In 1855 he was born Percival Lovell - An outstanding astrophysicist and mathematician who explored Mars. He founded the largest observatory in the United States. Lovell spent several years searching for the tenth planet of the solar system.
- In 1860 he was born Hugo Wolf - Austrian critic, musician and composer, representative of modern romanticism. His works mainly dealt with the genre of romance.
- In 1887 was born Raymond Birge - An American physicist who discovered the carbon-13 isotope, predicted and developed a method for determining heat.
- In 1910 was born Irina Bugrimova - Circus artist, the first woman-tamer of lions in the world.
- born in 1913 Sergey Mikhalkov - A brilliant children's writer, playwright, fabulist, author of the words of the anthem of the USSR, and later - of the Russian Federation. He is the parent of the famous film director Nikita Mikhalkov
- born in 1955 Zinetula Bilyaletdinov - Honored coach of Russia, Dynamo player, hockey player, Olympic champion, multiple world champion.
Birthday March 13
On this day, a representative of the names will be able to celebrate: Nikifor, Avriky, Vasily, Arseniy, Kiprian, Ivan, Kira, Marina, Nikolai, Nestor, Nymph, Sergey, Protery, Simon.
