Holidays
- World Voice Day
- High Five Day
- Eggs Benedict Day
- Charlie Chaplin Day
- World Semicolon Day
- Cinnamon Wind Day
- Day of wishes for the healthcare system
- Mushroom Day
- Pajama day at work
Significant dates
1618 Physician William Harvey was the first to present a new view of the circulatory system in the human body.
1722 Peter I ordered the opening of maritime training schools only for Russian subjects.
1797 Paul I proclaimed a decree limiting corvée.
1934 The honorary title Hero of the Soviet Union was established.
[1945TheBerlinoffensiveoperationoftheSoviettroopsbegan2004 A new “Tsar Bell” was raised to the belfry of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
Persons of the day
On April 16, 1786, Russian scientist, orientalist and inventor Pavel Schilling was born.
On April 16, 1823, German mathematician Ferdinand Eisenstein was born.
On April 16, 1889, the English actor, film director and screenwriter, the Great Comedian Charlie Chaplin, was born.
On April 16, 1901, Soviet painter, theater designer, and director Nikolai Akimov was born.
On April 16, 1912, Soviet theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR Evgeny Samoilov was born.
Folk calendar
Nikita Vodopol, Waterman's treat
The day got its name in honor of Nikita the Confessor, abbot of the Midice monastery, who lived in the 8th-9th centuries.
The rapid melting of snow begins from Nikita, and ice floes are already rushing along the river with might and main. A flood could bring a lot of trouble: if the river overflows its banks, it will sweep away everything that gets in its way. Therefore, it was important to understand in advance how much the water would spill. The height of the flood was determined by various signs: by the height of the sandpiper's nest or by mole holes (a rodent will never dig below the border of a future flood).
It was believed that on this day the merman awakens from hibernation. The peasants tried to appease him – some treated him to bread, some to porridge, some to chicken giblets. They said that even if the merman doesn’t eat, the food in the spring will be useful to all the creatures that live in the depths of the river.
The fishermen especially tried; they poured oil into the river and asked for good luck in their business. The most superstitious of them prepared a noble gift for the waterman – three days before Nikitin’s Day, they bought the thinnest horse from the gypsies, without haggling, and fattened it with bread and cake. On the last evening, they smeared her with honey, wove ribbons into her mane, and drowned her in the river. The worst omen for fishermen was if the merman refused to accept the gift.
True, there was another, more mundane one: if the ice did not melt by Nikitin’s Day, fishing would be poor.
Name day on this day
Nikita.
Source: Calend.ru
