Ukraine celebrates Rescuer's Day and Adoption Day, World Patient Safety Day. What else can be celebrated on September 17

Today, September 17, Ukraine celebrates the Day of the Rescuer. The event was launched by presidential decree in 2008, UNN reports.

Rescuer's Day is not only a professional holiday for employees of emergency services, fire protection, civil defense and other special forces. This event is also dedicated to civilians who have distinguished themselves in the aftermath of emergencies, fires, and in saving lives and health.   

The full-scale Russian aggression was a serious test for Ukrainian rescuers, which they passed with flying colors.

Today, most of the calls of Ukrainian rescuers are related to the aftermath of enemy rocket attacks and missile strikes: extinguishing fires, clearing debris, and, of course, rescuing people.

During the two years of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian rescuers made almost 140,000 visits to eliminate the consequences of the hostilities, rescued about five thousand people, and dismantled about two thousand destroyed buildings.

91 SES employees were killed while performing their duties, and 348 were injured.

Today, Ukraine is also celebrating Adoption Day. The event was also launched in 2008, and was originally celebrated on September 30, as it was dedicated to the Christian holiday of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia. With the transition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to the New Julian calendar in 2023, Adoption Day was officially moved to September 17.

As of the end of 2023, there were almost 67,000 orphans and children deprived of parental care in Ukraine, about nine thousand of whom are being raised in family-type orphanages. Over the nearly two years of the full-scale invasion, more than a thousand children have been adopted in Ukraine.

Since 2019, at the initiative of the World Health Organization, many countries around the world have been holding events to mark World Patient Safety Day. In the same year, Ukraine officially joined the event.

The World Patient Safety Day is based on the fundamental principle of medicine - do no harm first.

September 17 is also the International Day of Country Music.

The event was launched in honor of musician Hank Williams, who was born on September 17, 1923, and is considered the founder of the country music style.

Williams lived for only 29 years, but managed to release 35 albums of his records, which are classics for all country music fans.

According to the New Julian and Gregorian calendars, Christians today honor the memory of the martyrs Vira, Nadiia, Liubov and their mother Sophia.

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 Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov, and Sophia celebrate their name days.