Holidays
- World Aviation and Space Day
- Easter
- World Hamster Day
- Rock 'n' Roll Birthday
- International Day of Human Space Flight
- International Day of Lucid Dreaming
- International Day of Street Children
- Walk on the Wild Side Day
- Big wind day
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
- Sunburst Weaving Day
Significant dates
1242 The army of Alexander Nevsky defeated the German knights on Lake Peipus (Battle of the Ice).
1633 The trial of Galileo Galilei began in Rome.
1796 Napoleon Bonaparte won his first serious victory at the Battle of Montenotte.
1861 Alexander II issued a Decree on the establishment of a hospital for the working population in St. Petersburg.
1871 The Paris Commune adopted a decree on the overthrow of the Vendôme Column.
1961 For the first time a man flew into space.
1978 The fourth Constitution of the RSFSR was adopted.
Persons of the day
On April 12, 1823, Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky was born.
On April 12, 1839, Russian traveler and naturalist Nikolai Przhevalsky was born.
On April 12, 1850, Russian statesman Nikolai Golitsyn was born.
On April 12, 1912, Soviet theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR Efim Kopelyan was born.
On April 12, 1931, Soviet songwriter Leonid Derbenev was born.
Spanish opera singer (soprano) Montserrat Caballe was born on April 12, 1933.
Folk calendar
Ivan Lestvichnik
On this day, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of John Climacus, a Christian theologian and philosopher, abbot of the Sinai monastery, who lived in the 6th-7th centuries. John is the author of “The Ladder” (from the Old Church Slavonic “ladder”) – a kind of guide to moral self-improvement. In his work, John presented 30 virtues in the form of steps by which a Christian should ascend to the ideal.
On the day of honoring Ivan (John), Russian people baked ritual cookies – ladders. They rolled two “sausages” out of the dough, placed them parallel to each other, and placed pies on top instead of steps. It was supposed to bake a ladder for each family member – it was believed that this would bring health to the household. Also, according to custom, these cookies were brought to church, where they were sprinkled with holy water.
During Ivan Climacus, many were afraid to walk around the yard. They said that on this day the brownie “goes mad” and does not recognize his family, and therefore can harm them. This was explained in different ways. In some areas they thought that the brownie was losing his old skin, in others they believed that he was going to marry a witch. Be that as it may, the brownie swaggered all night until the first rooster crowed, so at sunset the peasants locked all the cattle in the barn, and they themselves sat in the hut, not even going to the windows.
Name day on this day
Zakhar, Ivan.
Source: Calend.ru
