
World Snowman Day, Winnie the Pooh Day, and St. Anatasius and Cyril's Day. What else is celebrated on January 18
Kyiv • UNN
January 18 is World Snowman Day, Winnie the Pooh Day, Thesaurus Day, and Maintenance Day. It is also a church holiday - the Day of Saints Anatasiy and Kirill.
Today, on January 18, the world celebrates a holiday that unites lovers of winter entertainment - World Snowman Day, UNN reports.
The idea of introducing this holiday belongs to Cornelius Gretz, a German collector and owner of more than 3000 snowmen. An interesting fact is that he chose the date for this day not by chance: the number "18" reminded him of a snowman with a broom.
The origins of the traditional winter character are not known for certain. However, researchers believe that he already existed in the Middle Ages.
Snowman Day is a reminder that even a cold winter can be a time of warmth, friendship and joy.
In addition, January 18 also marks Winnie the Pooh's niversary. This holiday was created to honor the memory of the author of popular children's books, Alan Alexander Milne.

The story of Winnie the Pooh began with a teddy bear that Milne gave to his son Christopher Robin. Inspired by his son's play, the writer created characters that have become true icons of children's literature. Interestingly, unlike the books, Winnie was a girl.
The bear's name has an interesting origin. The "Winnie" part comes from the name of the city of Winnipeg. And the "fluff" part is a swan that the Milne family met while walking.
The first Winnie the Pooh book was published in 1926 and immediately gained worldwide popularity.
January 18 is also Thesaurus Day, which is a dictionary that contains a description of the vocabulary of a language in its entirety and completeness.

The holiday is celebrated in honor of the British lexicographer Mark Roget, who was the first to collect and systematize the lexical composition of the English language and create the Thesaurus of English Words and Expressions.
A thesaurus is a dictionary of synonyms that helps you find the exact words to express your thoughts. Its value is hard to overestimate for writers, journalists, students, and anyone who wants to diversify their language.
The word "thesaurus" itself comes from the Latin word for "treasury," which is symbolic, since it is a linguistic treasure trove.
On this day, mini-quizzes or contests are often organized to find synonyms for familiar words.
Celebrating Thesaurus Day is a great opportunity to plunge into the world of language riches and see how one word can have dozens of variants to express a thought.
Also, this day is the Maintenance Day.

This holiday reminds us of the importance of maintaining machinery and equipment used in everyday life and at work.
It is also important to mention church holidays on this day. In particular, January 18 is the Day of Saints Anatasius and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandria.
Both saints fought against heretics and spread the faith of Christ.

St. Athanasius was born in Alexandria into a Christian family. As a young man, he became a deacon and witnessed a schism in the Church due to the Arian doctrine that denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. After the death of Patriarch Alexander, Athanasius became an archbishop and continued to fight against heresy. For this he was persecuted: he was accused of fictitious crimes, and the saint was expelled from Alexandria several times.
St. Cyril was also a defender of the Orthodox faith. As Patriarch of Alexandria, he expelled heretics from the city, consecrated a pagan temple, and built a Christian church in its place. He is best known for his fight against the Nestorian heresy, which questioned the unity of Christ's nature.
Cyril succeeded in convening the Council of Ephesus, where Nestorius' teachings were condemned and Nestorius himself was defrocked.
According to folk signs, on this day you can determine what the weather will be like. If the sun peeks out from behind the clouds at noon, spring will be early. If there is a blizzard, the winter will be long. A thaw promises a poor harvest due to a wet summer, and if the birds fly low, you should expect bad weather.