Holidays March 21
World Poetry Day
Poetry Day was established at the initiative of the UNESCO General Conference in 1999. For the first time such an event was noted in Paris, where the headquarters of the cultural organization is located. World Poetry Day is given to society, since only the “art of pen ownership," according to UNESCO, will be able to answer the most deeply spiritual questions, as well as instill a love of beauty in a modernized person. That is why it is necessary to “pull up” as many people as possible to poetry. Moreover, the holiday provides a unique opportunity for outstanding, but still unknown talents, to express themselves, to convey to the general public their word, their spiritual thought, a melody sounding from the lips of a dreamy poet.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The holiday was established by the UN General Assembly on October 26, 1966 and is celebrated annually on March 21. The specified date is dedicated to the sad event that occurred in 1960, when sixty-nine people were shot by police during the Sharpeville demonstration against the mandatory passportization of South African citizens. The UNGA confirmed that racial prejudice is a violation of human rights, affecting its freedom and suppressing a sense of dignity. In addition, discrimination on racial differences is a “brake” that impedes the social and economic development of world society.
Any policy aimed at fomenting racial discrimination is considered unacceptable and must be strictly suppressed. Many programs have now been developed (they continue to be developed to this day) that help in the fight against racial discrimination. The main ones are aimed at providing all inhabitants of the planet with equal opportunities and rights in all aspects of social and political life.
International Day of Down Syndrome
International Day of People with Down Syndrome has been on the world calendar since 2006. The idea of creating an unusual holiday was put forward by the participants of the sixth symposium on this topic. In Russia, this event has taken root since 2011.
Down syndrome is a rare genetic pathology consisting in the presence of an extra chromosome in the human genome. An accidental failure in the genetic system occurs, as a rule, at the stage of the first divisions of the zygote (fertilized egg). Today in the world every 700-800 baby is born with Down syndrome, which will remain with him until the end of his life. No external factors (alcohol, smoking, drug use) affect the development of an extra chromosome. However, it has been proven that with increasing age of the parents, the risk of having such a child increases significantly.
The person who first described the syndrome (the presence of characteristic physiological signs in the anamnesis) in 1828 as a form of a specific psychological deviation was the English physician John Down. And the connection of the "Mongoloid" appearance, which is inherent in most people with Down syndrome, with an extra chromosome was discovered by the geneticist Lejeune in 1959.
Today Down syndrome is not a sentence! Such children are slightly behind both in physical and mental development from ordinary children, but, as long-term practice shows, they are trained if they are not left to their own devices and work hard with them. There are hundreds of organizations, advanced educators, as well as thousands of developed programs for the development of "solar" children. Moscow even has the only theater in the world, in the arsenal of which there are only people with Down syndrome. Their troupe called "Simple-minded" successfully tours countries, gathering thousands of people in the hall.
March 21 in the folk calendar
The blubber
March 20 passed the vernal equinox. In Russia, the event was called the solstice and believed that it was from this event that the spring really opens its arms, and literally the very next day, March 21, the last birds return to their homeland. In addition to the return of birds, the peasants celebrated the so-called Willow Day. According to custom, on March 21, its blooming branches brought home to expel domestic troubles, quarrels and family troubles. At the same time, unpleasant superstitions were associated with willow. For example, a tree could not be planted in the yard, otherwise the owner of the family could be seriously ill.
Historical events of March 21
March 21, 1666 - In Canada, conducted the first census
It is well known that Canada is the most "motley" country in terms of living in it a huge variety of ethnic groups. The first known census of this country took place in 1666, and it was carried out on the territory of predominantly French Canada. Then it was officially recorded about 3200 people. Today, the Canadian population census is carried out every five years and fully provides the authorities with information on the demographic composition of the country, as well as on the living conditions in which its citizens exist.
March 21, 1684 - Two more Saturn satellites discovered
The discovery in the field of astronomy was made by the French astronomer D. Cassini, observing through the telescope the night sky. Dion and Tethys - these are the names of these celestial bodies. Cassini previously discovered several more satellites of the giant Saturn, in particular Ray and Iapetus. Recall that about sixty satellites revolve around a “ringed” planet - from a size slightly smaller than the moon to the size of our Earth.
March 21, 1917 - Arrested Nikolai Romanov (Russian emperor)
The arrest of Emperor Nicholas II was carried out in Mogilev by the decision of the Provisional Government, acting under pressure from soldiers 'deputies and the workers' council. The palace in Tsarskoye Selo was chosen as the place of detention for the former ruler and his family. Participants in the Moscow Council, held on the eve of the arrest, reassured the angry hall, from which the words "Death to the Tsar" were repeatedly heard and informed that the emperor would be sent abroad. Exactly a year later, Nikolai was again arrested, and in July 1918, he was shot with his family.
March 21, 1965 - The Americans launched to the moon interplanetary station "Ranger-9"
Attempts to launch automatic interplanetary stations into space from the United States have been carried out repeatedly until this day, but they all failed. And on March 21, 1965, the project was realized - the Ranger-9 station was launched into the lunar orbit. The aim of the program was to collect maximum information from the orbit of the Earth's satellite. Three days later, the device reached its goal and transmitted thousands of photographs from the surface of the moon to Earth. American television broadcast live footage.
Born on March 21
- Johann Sebastian Bach (born in 1685) - an outstanding composer, virtuoso organist and teacher. He was one of the representatives of the Baroque era. For his creative life, Bach has created more than 1000 pieces of music. Most of them continue to live in the modern music world.
- Jean Baptiste Fourier (born in 1768) - French mathematical physicist. The founder of the theory of heat propagation in solid matter, which subsequently gave a powerful impetus to the development of the science of waves and vibrations.
- Alexander Mozhaysky (born in 1825) - Russian naval leader, inventor, rear admiral, aviation pioneer. Compiled a description of the water basin of the Aral Sea and the river. Amu Darya. In 1882, he designed, built and tested the Mozhaisky aircraft.
- Leonid Utesov (born in 1895) - entertainer, film actor, orchestra leader, People's Artist of the USSR - one of the first to be awarded this title.
Birthday March 21
Nicholas, Vladimir, Athanasius, Erma, Dion, Ivan, Theodosius, Lazarus, Theodorite.
