Today, on April 8, animal rights activists and wildlife lovers can join various events on the occasion of the Dwarf Hippo Day, UNN reports.
The habitat of pygmy hippos is the forests and swamps of West Africa. These animals were first described in 1849 by British scientist Sam Morton. They weigh ten times less than ordinary hippos.
Dwarf hippos are solitary animals, except during mating season. Females give birth to one cub every two years.
Due to ruthless poaching, dwarf hippos are on the verge of total extinction. According to various estimates, there are only about two thousand dwarf hippos in the world today. Most of them are kept in captivity solely for the sake of population conservation.
On April 8, you can join the International Day of Buddhism. The event was established in honor of the founder of this religious movement, Buddha Shyamuni, who is believed to have been born on April 8.
Buddhism is a religious and philosophical doctrine that helps to awaken spiritually. It appeared in ancient India around the 6th century BC. Buddhism is often called an "atheistic" religion: although it has religious features, there is no Creator in Buddhism.
Buddhism is one of the world's religions. It is practiced by more than 500 million people on our planet.
Today is also the International Roma Day. The event was launched in 1990 on the occasion of the International Roma Union being established in London on April 8, 1971.
Roma, as an ethnic group, were formed in ancient Persia.
Today, there are about 18 million Roma in the world.
People who love harmony in everything can celebrate the International Feng Shui Day on April 8.
Feng Shui is a science based on the philosophical trend of Taoism, which teaches us to live in harmony with the chakra of nature, which travels through the body through special channels. There are nine such channels, also called "chakra gates". There are several types of chakras, and each person can combine only two of them in his or her body. Only the chosen ones can contain all types of chakras, which makes them invulnerable.
Feng Shui tries to harness the positive energy of nature and neutralize the negative to improve a person's health, well-being, and relationships with others.
In the modern sense, feng shui is a complex system of positioning buildings and objects inside them in such a way as to align their position with spiritual forces to gain health and happiness.
Another day associated with the harmony of body and soul is the International Day of Beauty Contests.
There is some disagreement about where and when the first beauty pageant took place. According to the main version, the first beauty contest took place in September 1888 in the Belgian town of Spa. The winner was 18-year-old Bertha Soker, who received five thousand Belgian francs as a prize.
According to the church calendar, today is the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Apostles from the 70th year of Herodion, Ermus, Rufus, Agabus, Ascincritus, and Phlegonus.
All of them traveled the world and preached the teachings of the Lord, had the gift of healing and prophecy.
Rodion, Yakiv, Yevhen, Yarema, and Yulia celebrate their namesakes on April 8.