On October 22, the world observes International Stuttering Awareness Day under the auspices of international medical organizations; with the support of environmental communities, International Day of Action for the Seals and CAPS LOCK Day are also held. According to the new-style church calendar, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Abercius, Bishop of Hierapolis, and the Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus are commemorated, while according to the old style, Saint James son of Alphaeus the Apostle is remembered, UNN writes.
World Stuttering Awareness Day (International Stuttering Awareness Day)
This important date was established in 1998 at the initiative of the International Stuttering Association and the International Fluency Association, with the support of the European Stuttering Association. The day is intended to raise public awareness of a speech disorder that affects more than 1% of the world's population, dispel myths about the logical or intellectual limitations of people who stutter, promote modern methods of speech therapy and psychological correction, and overcome social discrimination and bullying.
International Day of Action for the Seals (International Day of Action for the Seals)
An environmental observance initiated by conservation organizations to draw the global community's attention to the threat of extinction facing various species of seals, including Baikal, Ladoga, and Caspian seals. The day's primary goals are to combat poaching, ban the commercial slaughter of seal pups, protect marine waters from pollution by plastic and petroleum products, and preserve the natural habitat of pinnipeds.
International CAPS LOCK Day (International Caps Lock Day)
A popular unofficial Internet holiday established in 2000 by Internet user Derek Arnold as a humorous protest against the commonplace and inappropriate use of the Caps Lock key in text messages, which is perceived as shouting in online etiquette. The holiday encourages Internet users to approach digital culture with humor, pay attention to email etiquette, and observe standards of literacy on social media.
Jidai Matsuri in Japan
One of Kyoto's three grandest and largest traditional festivals, established in 1895 to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of Japan's ancient capital. The culmination of the festival is a grand costume procession in which more than 2,000 participants dressed in authentic historical attire recreate key eras of Japanese history, from the Heian period to the Meiji Restoration, proceeding from the Imperial Palace to the Heian Shrine.
According to the new calendar, Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers commemorate Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Abercius, Bishop of Hierapolis and wonderworker — an outstanding Christian preacher in Phrygia who, through the power of prayer, destroyed pagan shrines, healed the sick, and baptized thousands of city residents. On this day, the Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus are also remembered: Maximilian, Jamblichus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus, and Antoninus, who hid in a cave from the persecutions of Emperor Decius, miraculously fell asleep for nearly two centuries, and awoke during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, bearing witness to the truth of the resurrection of the dead.
According to the old calendar, believers commemorate Saint James son of Alphaeus the Apostle — one of the twelve closest disciples of Jesus Christ and the brother of the apostle and evangelist Matthew. The Apostle James preached Christianity in Judea, Edessa, Gaza, and southern Palestine, converting many pagans, and ended his earthly life by being martyred on a cross in Egypt.