September 30: All-Ukrainian Library Day, International Translation Day

Today, on September 30, all book lovers in our country can join the events on the occasion of the All-Ukrainian Library Day, UNN writes.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the first libraries began to appear in churches and monasteries in Kyivan Rus. In 1037, Prince Yaroslav the Wise created the first state library at St. Sophia Cathedral. Most of the books in it were religious in content, but there were also philosophical, natural history, and other works.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, university libraries began to appear, and soon libraries at national-religious brotherhoods.

At the end of the eighteenth century, it became prestigious among wealthy people to have private libraries with a large number of books. Rare works were especially revered.

In the nineteenth century, libraries began to become accessible to ordinary people: in 1829, local intellectuals founded a public library  in Odesa, in 1866 - in Kyiv, and in 1886 - in Kharkiv.

At the beginning of the Russian aggression, there were about 15,000 libraries in Ukraine, with more than 11 million Ukrainians using their services annually.

The oldest library institution in Ukraine is currently the Scientific Library of Lviv National University. It was founded in 1608.

The largest library is the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. Its collections include 16 million copies of books and periodicals.

Today is also International Translation Day. The event was established in honor of St. Jerome, who is called the patron saint of translations because he was the first to translate the Bible from Hebrew into Latin.

Today, there are about 300 thousand professional translators in the world. On average, a translator translates about half a million words a year.

Since 1986, animal rights activists and wildlife lovers have joined the Save the Koala Day events on September 30.

Koalas are an important part of Australia's wildlife. Scientists estimate that if no measures are taken to preserve them, koalas will completely disappear from our planet in 30 years.

The purpose of today's event is to raise awareness of the risks that threaten the existence of these animals and to raise funds needed to continue the fight and long-term conservation of koala habitats.

Those who are concerned about their health can join the Mud Day today.

The use of mud for medicinal and cosmetic purposes began in the 16th century. Doctors of that time would smear patients with therapeutic mud and then send them to the bath to wash it off. Mud manipulation for therapeutic purposes became so widespread that the technology was often used even for animals.

The procedure continued to be improved in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

According to the New Julian Church calendar, today is the Day of Remembrance of St. Michael, the first Metropolitan of Kyiv.

Michael was originally from Syria. Patriarch Nicholas II of Constantinople sent him to Kievan Rus.

Michael baptized Prince Volodymyr and the people of Kyiv with him.

Michael died in 992. He was buried in the Church of the Tithes. His relics were later transferred to the nearby caves of the Kyiv Cave Monastery.

According to the old style, today the memory of the martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia is honored.

According to legend, Sophia was a devout Christian and raised her daughters in faith in the Lord.

The pagan emperor Hadrian demanded that Sophia and her daughters renounce the Lord. Faith, Hope, and Love were subjected to severe torture. And Sophia was forced to watch her daughters suffer. However, neither the girls nor their mother denied the Lord.

Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov died of terrible suffering. Sophia buried them, and the next day she died on their grave.

Today, Mikhail, Vasily, Grigory, Leonid, Matvey, Mikhail, Alexander, and Alexandra celebrate their name days.