December 20, 2022 - Tuesday.

300th day of the war in Ukraine.

What a church holiday today, December 20

December 20 in the church calendar is

the day of memory of Saint Ambrose of Mediolan

.

This is a significant event for every Orthodox Christian.

The saint was born in the city of Trier (according to other sources, Trier) in 340 in a fairly wealthy family.

It was he who became the first Latin saint in the church, although he was brought up by a Christian family.

He received a good education as a rhetorician, was the head of several provinces, and had a residence in Milan.

In 352, Ambrose lost his father.

After this sad event, he settled in Rome and continued his studies there.

At first, he worked as an adviser, and then even as a prefect of Mediolan (now Milan).

When the local bishop died, disputes arose in the city between representatives of the Arian heresy and the Christian faith.

Traditions say that during these quarrels, the baby said: "Ambrose to the bishops."

This choice was confirmed by Emperor Valentinian himself.

After that, Ambrose became the bishop of Milan.

His main goal was to put an end to heresy, and he put a lot of effort into it.

Ambrose was loved and respected for his humanity and honesty.

He also received from the Lord the ability to work miracles.

He died in April 397.

December 20 - the day of memory of Saint Ambrose of Mediolan / Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Also, December 20 is

the day of memory of Reverend Pavlo Slukhlyvy

.

People also call him "Paul of the Caves", because it was he who was an ascetic of the Far Caves in Kyiv.

Unfortunately, very little information has survived about his life.

He lived, approximately, in the XIII-XIV centuries.

He became a monk in the Pechersk Monastery.

He underwent severe tests there, but he never complained.

He conscientiously performed all the work given to him by the abbot of the monastery.

Pavlo spent his free time praying.

Pavel Sluhlyvy is mentioned in the plan of the Near Caves of 1638.

There they write about "the holy Father Paul, a miraculously obedient monk."

There is also a mention of it in the plan of the Far Caves of Kyiv on the map of 1744.

Here they already write about "the venerable Father Paul".

He dedicated his whole life to God.

He died a peaceful death.

What can not be done on this day

  • You can't have fun on December 20.

    This rule applies until Christmas itself.

  • Do not swear or argue, and do not be sad, so that the next year will be good.

  • On December 20, try not to overeat or drink alcoholic beverages.

  • Do not borrow money.

Folk signs and traditions of December 20

Among our ancestors there were many interesting omens for this day:

  • looked at what day it was today: the sun hid behind the clouds - expect snowfall;

  • if there is wet snow on December 20, then the summer will be rainy;

  • if the sun is hazy, then a blizzard will soon begin;

  • if there is dry and light snow, the coming summer will be dry.

December 20 wet snow, then the summer will be rainy / Photo: Pexels

All major holidays of the year end on December 20.

Our ancestors already started preparing for Christmas.

Therefore, evening parties and gatherings were not held until January 6.

The Christmas fast continues, so you can't eat fatty food, meat, or eggs.

The girls sewed their own clothes that day.

But before starting work, the following prayer must be recited:

"First stitch - pray to God, first sewing - praise God"

Weather forecast for today, December 20

Today, December 20, it will be gloomy in Kyiv, light snow will fall during the day and evening.

It is cloudy in Lviv, light snow in the morning, which will end by the middle of the day.

It is gloomy in Kharkiv, no precipitation is expected.

It is cloudy in Odessa, without precipitation.

The air temperature in Kyiv is +1 during the day and -6 at night.

In Lviv +4 during the day and -2 at night.

In Kharkiv, it is 0 during the day and -7 at night.

In Odessa +2 during the day and -4 at night.

Commemorative dates of December 20

Calendar of important events in Ukraine and the world for December 20:

  • 1637 - after the surrender of the registrants near Borovitsa, the hetman of the non-registered Zaporizhia Cossacks, Pavlyuk, is captured by the Poles;

  • 1803 - celebrations take place in New Orleans (USA) on the occasion of the acquisition of the territory of present-day Louisiana from France;

  • 1868 - the Ukrainian cultural and educational society "Prosvita" was founded in Lviv;

  • 1880 - the first electric lights were lit on Broadway in New York;

  • 1892 - engineers Alexander Brown and George Stillman from the American town of Syracuse (New York) received a patent for pneumatic automobile tires;

  • 1912 - the London Conference of Ambassadors and the London Peace Treaty, which was concluded after the First Balkan War, recognize the independence of Albania;

  • 1961 - the last capital punishment takes place in Northern Ireland;

  • 1984 - Bell Labs announced the completion of development of a megabit memory chip capable of storing more than a million bits of electronic data;

  • 1991 - Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan recognize the independence of Ukraine;

  • 1995 – diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina were established;

  • 1999 - the Portuguese colony of Macau comes under the jurisdiction of China according to agreements with Portugal;

  • 2000 - the Parliament of Great Britain approves human cloning, but exclusively for medical purposes;

  • 2000 - the Netherlands passes a law allowing same-sex marriages.

Name day: how to name a child born on December 20

What are the names today:

Pavlo, Lev, Anton, Ivan, Grigory, Mykhailo, Ignatius, Dominika.

The talisman of people born on December 20 is

obsidian

.

Natural stone is not precious, so its price is low.

But at different times it was highly valued.

An interesting fact

- the name "obsidian" comes from the name of the Roman warrior Obsidian, who brought the stone home from Ethiopia.

It is believed that it can cure colds, normalize blood pressure, and help with rheumatism.

Born on this day:

  • 1629 - Dutch painter, representative of the Delft School, Pieter de Goch;

  • 1807 - ethnographer, linguist, publicist, Yosyp Lozynskyi;

  • 1861 - Slovenian artist, Ivana Kobilca;

  • 1919 - Polish film star of Ukrainian origin, Tamara Wysniewska;

  • 1940 - Soviet director of animated films, Anatoly Reznikov;

  • 1958 - Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine (1993), director and artistic director of the Kyiv Academic Puppet Theater, Mykola Petrenko;

  • 1974 - Ukrainian opera singer, soloist of the Paris National Opera, died from a sniper's bullet on June 29, 2016, Vasyl Slipak;

  • 1980 - English football player, left defender of the London "Chelsea" and the England national team, Ashley Cole.

What a day today is in Ukraine and the world

December 20 is celebrated as Game Day or Game Day / Photo: Pexels

On December 20, the world celebrates

the International Day of People's Solidarity

.

The holiday has been celebrated since 2006, and it was announced by the UN General Assembly in 2005.

The purpose of this day is to unite people from all over the world to deal with various global problems and achieve development together.

Solidarity is called commitment to certain interests, actions and thoughts that can unite different people.

That is, a group of people unites around beliefs or views, supports each other and is responsible for others.

One of the main principles of the United Nations is the fight against poverty and oppression, solidarity with those people who suffer from oppression.

Also, December 20 is celebrated as

Game Day or Game Day

.

On this day, it is worth remembering any games (board, card, computer, puppet, video games).

On December 20, you can distract yourself from your problems, have fun and get rid of stress.

The holiday was created with the sponsorship of Games Workshop and has been celebrated every year since 1975. Games Workshop is engaged in the production, creation and distribution of games.

Currently releasing even such popular variants as Warhammer.

The holiday is most famous in Great Britain, so its main events take place in Birmingham.

It was in England (London) that the first celebration took place.

Only later was the idea supported by the USA and European countries.

You can spend the holiday with loved ones and friends playing an interesting game.