On May 8, Mark, Sergei and Vasily celebrate their name days. According to the popular calendar, this is the day of remembrance of the Apostle Mark, the faithful companion of Barnabas and Paul. Also on this day there were several important international holidays.
International Day of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
Such a memorable date, traditionally celebrated on May 8, was established in honor of the famous Swiss businessman and public figure Jean-Henri Dunant, who was born on this day. Dunant was a selfless humanist and altruist; it was on his initiative that groups of volunteers began to organize in the middle of the 19th century to help wounded soldiers on the battlefields.
In 1863, on his initiative, a conference was convened, as a result of which an international committee of the Red Cross was established. However, the official name - International Committee of the Red Cross - was approved only in 1928 at a conference in The Hague. At the same time, the charter of the organization was adopted. Today, volunteers and staff of the International Red Cross provide assistance to prisoners, sick people and people affected by military conflicts in 176 countries of the world.
The Swiss flag was chosen as the ICC emblem; the background color was changed to white and the cross color to red.
V-E Day
8th and 9th May in Europe - Days of Remembrance and Reconciliation, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Second World War. In Russia, May is also associated primarily with Victory Day. The United Nations has invited all Member States to celebrate the anniversary of Victory on one or both of these days. In Western Europe, the anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany is celebrated on the eighth: the surrender took effect in 1945 on that very day, at 23:01 CET.
In the USSR, the document, which was signed on May 9, was recognized as an act of surrender, therefore, to this day, Victory Day is celebrated in Russia and the CIS on the 9th.
Day of the operative worker of the penal system
In May, Russian employees of the operational divisions of the UIS (penal system) celebrate their professional holiday. This structure was formed in 1925, but officially the day of its establishment is May 8, 1935. Operational officers of the penitentiary system are involved in the investigation of crimes in places of serving sentences and ensure the safety of prisoners and employees of correctional institutions.
Women's historic night in Norway
A very interesting, but so far local holiday, has recently been celebrated in Norway. Women's Historical Night, along with International Women's Day, is intended to draw public attention to the problems of gender discrimination, in particular the phenomenon of the "glass ceiling" (when women receive lower wages than men in the same positions), violence and prostitution.
