On September 4, people commemorate the raising of the blue-and-yellow flag over the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 1991, mark World Sexual Health Day and World Taekwondo Day, and also remember the Prophet Moses and the icon "The Unburnt Bush" according to the new church calendar, reports UNN.
Raising of the State Flag of Ukraine over the Verkhovna Rada
An event of historic significance for Ukrainian state-building: on September 4, 1991, at the insistence of members of parliament and after lengthy debates, the national blue-and-yellow flag was officially raised for the first time over the parliament building alongside the flag of the Ukrainian SSR. This became a symbolic step toward affirming sovereignty and preceded the Verkhovna Rada’s resolution granting official status to the blue-and-yellow flag in January 1992.
World Sexual Health Day
An inaugural day established in 2010 by the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) to promote sexual rights, sex education, and disease prevention. The initiative emphasizes that sexual health is an integral part of a person’s overall physical and psychological well-being, as well as the right to safety and personal integrity.
World Taekwondo Day
The date commemorates the decision of the International Olympic Committee on September 4, 1994, at its session in Paris, to include the Korean martial art of taekwondo in the official program of the Olympic Games. The holiday brings together millions of athletes around the world and promotes the philosophy of discipline, self-control, and respect.
International Newspaper Carrier Day
The event originated as a commemoration of Barney Flaherty—the world’s first teenager hired to work as a newspaper seller and carrier by the publisher of The New York Sun in 1833. The day is dedicated to recognizing the importance of the work of print-media distributors and the development of journalism.
Memorial Day of the Holy Prophet Moses the Seer of God
According to the new calendar, believers commemorate the Holy Prophet Moses the Seer of God, who led the people of Israel out of Egyptian captivity and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, as well as Hieromartyr Babylas, Bishop of Great Antioch, who was executed in the 3rd century for refusing to let a pagan emperor into the church. The day of the icon of the Mother of God "The Unburnt Bush" is also observed; the icon is considered the patroness of firefighters and a protector against fires.
According to the old calendar, the Orthodox Church commemorates the holy martyr Agathonicus of Nicomedia and others who were executed with him during the reign of Emperor Maximian for refusing to renounce the Christian faith. In the folk calendar, this day was called "Agathon the Haystack Guardian" and was associated with beliefs about protecting sheaves and threshing floors from forest spirits, which is why peasants traditionally kept watch over their grain at night.