Holidays and commemorative dates:
Constitution Day of Ukraine – a national holiday celebrated annually on June 28 in honor of the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine on this day in 1996. This is the only state holiday enshrined in the Constitution itself: “Article 161. The day of adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine is a state holiday — the Day of the Constitution of Ukraine.” Ukrainians have always strived for independent statehood and the writing of their own Constitution. Pylyp Orlyk created the first Constitution in Europe, signed on April 5, 1710, which actually declared Ukraine an independent state under the protectorate of the King of Sweden. Although the provisions of this document were not implemented, it remains a symbol of the democratic aspirations of the Ukrainian nation. The constitution of Pylyp Orlyk contained provisions on the division of power into legislative, executive and judicial, which was innovative for that time. The 1996 Constitution was the result of a long and complex process involving political debate and public discussion.
Milk chocolate day – the holiday is very popular in the USA and was founded on the initiative of the Association of Confectioners. Milk chocolate first appeared in liquid form in 1839 at the factory of the German company Jordan & Timaeus. Thirty years later, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter created a solid form of these delicacies. Milk chocolate became popular thanks to the combination of cocoa mass, sugar and milk powder, which gave it a delicate and sweet taste. Today, milk chocolate is one of the most popular types of chocolate in the world and is produced by many companies, including Nestlé, Hershey and Cadbury.
International Piercing Day – Jim Ward, the owner of the world’s first professional piercing salon “Rukavychka”, opened in 1978, was born on this day. Although body piercing has had cultural significance for many peoples for centuries, it was Ward who made the process safe and aesthetic by developing internally carved jewelry. Piercing dates back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Rome, and Mesopotamia, where it was used as a symbol of status, beauty, or religious affiliation. Nowadays, piercing has become popular among young people as a way of self-expression and fashion. Ward also founded Piercing Fans International Quarterly, a magazine devoted to the art and culture of piercing.
International Day of Social Business – social entrepreneurship aimed at improving the world, for example, organizing meals for the homeless, producing ecological energy from waste and creating jobs. This date marks the birthday of Mohammad Yunus, the founder of microfinance and microcredit, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his contribution to social and economic development. Social business differs from traditional business in that its main goal is to solve social problems, not to make a profit. Yunus founded Grameen Bank, which provides microcredit to low-income people, helping them start their own businesses and lift themselves out of poverty. His microfinance model has been adopted by many countries and organizations around the world.
Events on this day:
1902 – The US Congress approved the Panama Canal Construction Act, which empowered the president to purchase the construction rights from the French “Panama Company” and from Colombia the rights to manage the canal zone in perpetuity.
1914 – the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was killed in Sarajevo, which became the reason for the start of the First World War. This murder, carried out by Serbian nationalist Gavril Princip, caused a chain reaction of declarations of war between European powers.
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the “Young Bosnia” terrorist organization, shot and killed the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia.
The day before, the distinguished guest and his honor spent the night at the “Bosnia” hotel in Ilidka, fifty kilometers southwest of Sarajevo. According to the program, the archduke was to attend a reception at the city hall, and then a sightseeing tour of the city was planned.
The first attempt ended unsuccessfully – an abandoned grenade rolled off the convertible top of a sports convertible and exploded near the escort car, injuring a total of 20 people. The heir to the throne ordered the motorcade to stop and began to provide first aid to the wounded… In such a commotion, it was impossible to get close to the target of the attempt, and Gavrilo Princip, the leader of the conspirators, decided that the operation had failed. It was lunchtime, and he went to eat at Moritz Schiller’s fashionable patisserie on Franz Josef Street in the form of the Latin Bridge. And here the effect of chance worked, which changed the course of world history – in front of the window of Schiller’s delicatessen, the archduke’s car clumsily tried to turn around.
It turned out that the heir to the throne could not stand the boring official speeches at the reception in the town hall and decided to visit the wounded in the hospital, but the driver drove into the wrong lane by mistake. They say that Gavrilo ran outside, with an uneaten pie in one hand and a gun in the other, pressed close to the car and fired two shots. The first bullet wounded Ferdinand, the second hit Sofia. Both shots were fatal.
As the instrument of murder, the conspirator chose a pistol designed by Browning, model 1910 – at that time it was one of the best pistols in the world adapted for concealed carry.
A month later, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Behind Austria-Hungary was Germany. Behind Serbia is Russia, which had an aid agreement with France and Great Britain. First, all of Europe started shooting, then the whole world…
Before this madness could be stopped, the world lost about 30 million lives, and four empires disappeared from the political map: German, Ottoman, Russian, and Austro-Hungarian, with the last two disintegrating into separate states. Serbia itself lost two thirds of its population in the First World War.
Gavrilo Princip died in prison from progressive tuberculosis on April 28, 1918, about half a year before the end of the war, the formal culprit of which he became. Until his death, he repeated that he did not regret what he had done, because all his thoughts were directed towards the future greatness of Serbia.
By the way, ironically, it was on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles in France, that the Treaty of Versailles was concluded, which put an end to the First World War and at the same time became a prologue to the fascism of Europe and the Second World War.
1917 – at a meeting of the Small Council, the first Ukrainian government was created – the General Secretariat, which was headed by Volodymyr Vynnychenko. This was an important step in the process of Ukraine gaining independence.
1919 – the Treaty of Versailles was signed, which officially ended the First World War. This treaty imposed significant reparations and restrictions on Germany, causing economic and political upheaval in the country.
1934 – The Fraser-Lemke Act was passed in the US to improve the situation of farmers, giving them the opportunity to restructure their debts and protect them from losing their land.
1941 – the first unit of Poliska Sich, a Ukrainian partisan formation that fought against the Nazi occupation during World War II, was created.
1956 – mass strike and demonstrations in Poznań (Poland) under the slogans “Freedom! Bread! God! Down with Communism!”, which led to clashes with government forces and casualties among protesters.
1988 – Pope John Paul II published the apostolic constitution “Pastor Bonus” for the reorganization of the Roman Curia, which defined the new structure and functions of the central governing body of the Catholic Church.
1989 – the farewell match of Oleg Blokhin, a famous Ukrainian football player, took place in Kyiv, in which the Soviet Union team met the world team.
1992 – the Signal Ship became the first in the Black Sea to raise the Ukrainian flag after the declaration of Ukraine’s independence.
1996 – after 23 hours of discussion, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Constitution of Ukraine, which became an important step in establishing the legal system of independent Ukraine.
2012 – The UN declared the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated on March 20, to raise awareness of the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.
