Holidays May 18
International Museum Day
The date of May 18 in the international calendar is occupied by a very important cultural holiday - Museum Day. On this day, most museums open their doors to visitors for free, with inspiration showing numerous exhibition halls, which include exhibits of various orientations, and also tell everyone about the meaning and history of each thing stored in the museum. The event is timed to the grand opening of new exhibitions and festivals. In addition, on May 18, all museums hold familiarization lectures, scientific readings, children's excursions and various theater and museum performances, as well as organize competitions and thematic games for schoolchildren.
Worldwide, International Museum Day has been celebrated since 1977 - from the moment when the general conference of ICOM, held in Leningrad and Moscow, decided to establish this professional holiday. The proposal for the introduction of Museum Day came from I.A. Antonova, who at that time was the director of the A. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.
Every year, on the day of this celebration, each major museum should choose a specific topic and organize events in accordance with its main idea. For example, in 1998, one of the largest Russian museums addressed the theme of “Fighting the illegal movement of cultural property,” and in 2005 the problem of “Museum as a bridge between the worlds” was considered. On May 18, museums always have a lot of visitors, even if the indicated date falls on a weekday.
May 18 in the folk calendar
Arina Rassadnitsa, Arina Kapustnitsa
On May 18, the people celebrate the memory of St. Arina of Macedonia, who became the first woman to be revered as a great martyr. Arina was born in the first century in a pagan family. Her father, Licinius, was the ruler of one of the Macedonian regions. The girl was taught by a hidden Christian, and he turned Arina into Christianity. Father had nothing against this, but Zedekiy, who succeeded him, began fierce persecution of Christians. Arina of Macedon also became their victim. On giving, the woman was repeatedly tortured, but her body remained intact, and faith was unshakable. The Lord saved her from death, and the saint lived to a very old age, bringing the Word of God to people and healing the seriously ill.
On the day of Arina's memory, as well as on Martha (May 17), peasants planted gardens - mainly planted cucumbers, pumpkin and cabbage. By the way, only women were engaged in similar matters in Russia. Having planted the sprouts of cabbage, they covered them with large pots, and those in turn with a white tablecloth or rags so that the forks formed as large, elastic and snow-white. And along the edges of the fences enclosing the garden, nettles were planted to scare away stray animals and evil spirits.
Historical events of May 18
May 18, 1642 - Foundation of the city of Montreal
For many millennia, the present Montreal was inhabited by the Indians, and only in 1642 did the French appear here. Led by Paul Shedi, the colony founded the city. Montreal was a small Native American settlement at the foot of the Hill of Hohelag, which was called "Ville Marie". In 1642 the name of the hill was changed, now it was called "Mont Royal". Later, the city itself was named after this mountain. In the eighteenth century, the British recaptured Montreal from the French, but to this day you can meet many French-speaking people there.
Today's Montreal is the heart of provincial Quebec, where more than half the population of the entire province is concentrated, it is also the second largest city in Canada and is rightly considered its industrial and cultural capital. Erected in the style of European culture, Montreal is very proud of its "stylistic endurance", a certain simplicity and discreetness, but at the same time a powerful magnetic wave emanates from it, so attracting tourists. It is not in vain that Montreal is compared with the capital of France! By the number of all architectural, cultural and historical structures, Montreal ranks first in Canada. There are many museums, theaters, galleries, monuments, four prestigious universities, about 400 parks and about 300 churches. The face of Montreal is magnificent and unique, many travelers claim that "this is Europe, which has grown into America."
May 18, 1753 - Establishment in Russia of the first state bank (Nobility loan bank)
On the date we are considering, by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the country's first state bank was established. They tried to engage in banking in Russia at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Thus, the imperial power, as the main developing financial business structure in the state, made the first attempts to streamline and organize credit institutions. During the reign of Anna, when the need for loans increased significantly, a “Coin Office” was built, which issued loans at low interest rates. The creation of the "Coin Office" was the first step towards the establishment and development of other credit institutions.
The rapid development of the banking sector took place during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, who, having ascended the throne, sought to follow the principles of her father - the immortal Peter the Great. Following fatherly principles primarily affected the financial region of Russia. Empress Elizabeth encouraged the entrepreneurial activities of the nobility, so in 1753 she issued a decree on the establishment of the Noble borrowed bank in St. Petersburg and its branch in Moscow with the aim of issuing loans against land and other property. The first bank of Russia provided the nobles with a rather cheap loan (only 6% per year) in very large amounts of money - up to 10,000 rubles. (at that time it was an astronomical sum). From the end of the 18th century, a borrowed bank began its work on peasant loans in the amount of not more than twenty rubles per capita.
May 18 were born
Konstantin Vsevolodovich (1186 - 1219) - Grand Duke of Vladimir (period of reign: from 1216 to 1219). He was the eldest son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. He was a very painful person, reigned not for long, entered the annals under the nickname Good.
Oliver Heaviside (1850 - 1925) - an outstanding English physicist. Heaviside predicted the existence of the Earth's ionosphere, which reflects electromagnetic waves. Thanks to the merits in the field of physics, the scientist became a full member of the highest scientific institution in Britain - the Royal Society of London.
Nicholas II (1868 - 1918) - the last emperor of Russia. His reign began with bloodshed and life ended with the bloodshed of his entire family. Historians call Nicholas "the incompetent ruler of a vast country," despite the fact that he was promoted to the rank of great martyrs. The sad fate of the ruler was predetermined by each of his actions. Nicholas II is the only emperor who received the nickname Bloody. He lost the wars in which he himself involved the country, plunged Russia into three revolutions and could not provide protection even to his relatives. Many historians come to the conclusion that it was with the last emperor that the collapse of the state began.
Name Day May 18
Name day celebrate May 18: Arina (as well as Irina). Yakov, Nikolay, Igor, Vseslav, Oleksandra, Mikhail, Ivan, Adrian, Eric, Felix, Viola, Natalia.
