September 22: World Rhino Day, Autumnal Equinox, White Chocolate Day

Today, on September 22, wildlife lovers and animal rights activists around the world can join the events on the occasion of World Rhino Day, UNN reports.

According to scientists, the ancestors of modern rhinos appeared on our planet more than 30 million years ago. Since the nineteenth century, due to uncontrolled hunting, which later turned into poaching, the rhino population has been declining significantly. The reason is that rhino horn is a raw material for the manufacture of precious jewelry and is also used to prepare medicines in alternative medicine in some African and Asian nations.

Thanks to the measures taken, the decline in the rhino population has been halted. In particular, more than 11 thousand rhinos live throughout Africa, of which almost 9 thousand live in the national parks of South Africa.

The number of rhinos in India and Nepal has increased to 2,000.

But the number of Sumatran rhinos has decreased from 900 to 350 individuals. According to scientists, it can be assumed that in recent years the western black rhinoceros, whose population was widespread in Cameroon, has finally died out.

Another zoological holiday today is World Elephant Day

The population of elephants in the wild is constantly declining. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were about 26 million elephants in Africa.

Massive uncontrolled hunting of these animals for ivory led to the fact that in the early twentieth century the number of elephants in Africa fell to 1.5 million.

Today, the number of elephants in Africa does not exceed 500 thousand, and in Asia - 30 thousand.

To preserve the elephant population, a ban on ivory trade was introduced in 1989. But this did not apply to ivory stockpiles created before 1989.

At approximately 13:44 Kyiv time on September 22, Ukraine will experience the autumnal equinox.

The astronomical phenomenon is explained by the fact that due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, the Sun illuminates the northern and southern hemispheres more. But twice a year, it evenly illuminates both of them.

The moment of equinox occurs when the center of the solar disk in its apparent ecliptic motion crosses the celestial equator

From now on, nights in Ukraine will become longer and days, on the contrary, shorter.

Today, those with a sweet tooth can join the celebration of White Chocolate Day.

White chocolate was first produced in the early 30s of the twentieth century. In this way, manufacturers tried to solve the problem of using excess cocoa butter.

Since 2001, Ukraine has celebrated the Day of Partisan Glory on September 22. The holiday has Soviet roots and was conceived to honor partisans who operated behind enemy lines during World War II.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine, modern guerrillas have appeared, helping to destroy the enemy, its equipment, and collaborators in the temporarily occupied territories in various ways.

On the fourth Sunday of September, Ukraine celebrates the Preschool Day, and employees of the  machine-building industry also celebrate their professional holiday.

On September 22, fans of Tolkien's work have been celebrating Hobbit Day since 1978. It was on September 22 that the main characters of Tolkien's books  Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were born.

On this day, a powerful party takes place on the set of The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand.

Since 2019, on September 22, many countries around the world have been holding events to mark World Narcolepsy Day.

Narcolepsy is not just a sleep disorder, but also a chronic neurological disease. People with narcolepsy have difficulty regulating their sleep-wake cycles. According to medical estimates, about three million people worldwide suffer from this disease.

September 22 is also World Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Day.

Myeloid leukemia is a malignant disease that affects the bone marrow. As a result of this process, an excessive number of pathological myeloid cells are formed and accumulate in the blood.

This type of leukemia is registered in acute and chronic forms. The latter accounts for approximately 20% of cases.

According to the church calendar, today the memory of the martyr Foka, Bishop of Synopsis, is honored.

From childhood, Foka led a pious life, later began preaching, and became a bishop. When the persecution of Christians intensified, Foka was captured. The pagans demanded that he renounce the Lord. But Thomas bravely endured all the torture and was executed.

Name days on September 22 are celebrated by Theodosius, Theophan, Yakym, Oleksii, Zakhar, Joseph, Mykyta, and Anna.