Holidays Calendar for July 12, 2015

Naadam is a traditional three-day festival in Mongolia which is celebrated as a public holiday. It is held from July 11 to July 13. In 2010, it was included to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Republic of Kiribati celebrates its Independence Day on July 12. It is the country’s national holiday that commemorates the independence of Kiribati from the United Kingdom in 1979.

Independence Day of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is observed on July 12. On that day in 1975, the country gained independence from Portugal. Independence Day is a public holiday and a day off for most citizens.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus is celebrated by various Christian denominations. While many churches do not regard it as one of the most important feasts, it is considered a very significant church holiday in Armenia.

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Cava is to Spain what Champagne is to France. Although this sparkling wine might be less renowned than its French counterpart, International Cava Day is celebrated not once, but twice a year: on April 23 and July 12.

Day of the Russian Post is an annual professional holiday of Russian postal workers celebrated on the second Sunday in July. It was officially established by President Boris Yeltsin in 1994 to recognize the contribution of the postal service to the development of the Russian state.

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Fisherman’s Day is a holiday celebrated in Russia and Ukraine on the second Sunday in July. If was officially established during the Soviet era, but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union only Ukraine and Russia continued to celebrate it officially.

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The Day of Tax Office Workers is a professional holiday in Belarus celebrated on the second Sunday in July each year. It was officially established in 1998 by President Alexander Lukashenko.

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Fish farm workers of Tajikistan celebrate their professional holiday on the second Sunday of July. The government of Tajikistan established Fish Farmers Day to highlight the important contribution of fish farms to the country’s economy.

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Hijab and Chastity Day is an Iranian holiday celebrated on the 21th day of the month of Tir in the Solar Hijri calendar, which corresponds to July 12 in the Gregorian calendar. Its main goal is to emphasize the importance of hijab in the lives of Iranian women.

On July 12, Ulster Protestants celebrate Orangemen's Day, also referred to as Battle of the Boyne Day or simply the Twelfth. It has the status of a public holiday in Northern Ireland.

The nearest Sunday to July 11 is National Day of Commemoration in Ireland. All Irish soldiers, who died in past wars or the United Nations peacekeeping missions, are commemorated on this day.

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Pecan pie is a staple of the Southern United States and one of America's favorite desserts. It surely deserves its own holiday. National Pecan Pie Day is celebrated on July 12.

There are many ways to reduce your environmental footprint without significantly changing your way of life. Have you thought, for example, about using paper bags instead of plastic ones? Paper Bag Day, observed annually on July 12, was created to encourage you to do just that.

National Different Colored Eyes Day is celebrated on July 12 to educate people about complete heterochromia, an eye condition that results in one iris being a different color from the other.

The International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms is a United Nations international day observed annually on July 12. It was established to raise awareness of the devastating effects of sand and dust storms and encourage regional and global cooperation to manage and mitigate them.

Malala Day, sometimes referred to as International Malala Day, is an annual observance dedicated to the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai who became the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate at the age of 17.

Father's Day in Uruguay is celebrated on the second Sunday in July. On this day, Uruguayans congratulate their fathers and express their love and gratitude.

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This Day in History

  • 2006 Attack of Hezbollah on Israel-Lebanon border initiated Operation True Promise, that is known as 2006 Lebanon War, or July War. The war ended on August 14 of the same year.
  • 1978 Born: Michelle Rodriguez, American actress. She rose to fame after a breakout role as a troubled boxer in the film Girlfight. This role brought her several awards, including Gotham Award, Independent Spirit Award. She also starred in The Fast and Furious and its sequels.
  • 1974 Born: Sharon den Adel, Dutch singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation.
  • 1962 The Rolling Stones performed their first concert at the Marquee Club in London, United Kingdom.
  • 1961 The city of Pune, the seventh-most populated city in India, was flooded due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams. More than 100,000 families needed to be relocated, about 2,000 died.
  • 1952 Born: Liz Mitchell, Jamaican singer, best known as the former lead singer of Boney M. Boney M disbanded in 1986, as its producer lost interest in project, and failed to re-grouped again in 1987. Mitchell started her solo career.
  • 1950 Born: Eric Carr, American drummer and songwriter, best known as the drummer for the rock band Kiss from 1980. He remained a member of band till his death in 1991.
  • 1949 Died: Douglas Hyde, Irish scholar and politician, 1st President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945. He also headed the Gaelic League, one of the most influential cultural organizations on Ireland at that time.
  • 1943 The Battle of Prokhorovka began, German and Soviet forces were engaged in one of the largest tank battles of all time.
  • 1934 Died: Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American inventor and businessman, best known for invention of the outboard motor.
  • 1934 Born: Van Cliburn, American pianist. He achieved worldwide recognition at the age of 23 after winning of the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow.
  • 1931 Died: Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1930.
  • 1928 Born: Elias James Corey, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate for development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis. He is widely regarded to be the one of the greatest of the living chemists.
  • 1920 Soviet Russia and Lithuania signed the Soviet-Lithuanian Peace Treaty. Soviet Russia recognized independence of Lithuania.
  • 1918 The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi sank after explosion in her ammunition magazine. At least 621 officers and crewmen died.
  • 1913 Born: Willis Lamb, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate for discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum. Together with German-American physicist Polykarp Kusch he was able to precisely determine certain electromagnetic properties of the electron.
  • 1910 Died: Charles Rolls, English engineer and businessman, together with Henry Royce he co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited, a car manufacturing firm.
  • 1904 Born: Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat. He is sometimes called to be greatest poet of the 20th century in any language. He received Nobel Prize in 1971.
  • 1892 Died: Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter, sometimes referred to as the inventor of baseball. He is thought to be the first person to draw a diagram of diamond-shaped baseball field and develop the rules of the game.
  • 1884 Born: Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor, best known for portraits and nudes in a modern style. His art wasn't received during his lifetime, but later found acceptance.
  • 1854 Born: George Eastman, American businessman and innovator, best known as the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, that popularized the use of roll film. His company helped to bring photography to the mainstream.
  • 1849 Died: Dolley Madison, First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817, wife of President James Madison. Her social gifts largely boosted her husband's popularity as President. Dolley Madison also helped to furnish the newly constructed White House. After widowhood she often lived in poverty.
  • 1806 16 German imperial states left the Holy Roman Empire and formed the Confederation of the Rhine. Liechtenstein was given full sovereignty after its accession to the Confederation.
  • 1804 Died: Alexander Hamilton, American general, economist, and politician, one of the founding fathers of the United States, one of the most influential interpreters and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, founder of the nation's financial system and 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury.
  • 1776 Captain James Cook began his third voyage to discover the Northwest Passage. This was the last voyage of Captain Cook.
  • 1712 Died: Richard Cromwell, English academic and politician, one of the two non-royals to be the English head of state. He assumed the power as 2nd Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and held the office for 264 days.
  • 1682 Died: Jean Picard, French astronomer, known as the first person to measure the size of the Earth to a reasonable degree of accuracy.
  • 1580 One of the early printed East Slavic translations of the Bible, the Ostrog Bible, was published.
  • 1543 King Henry VII of England married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace. The marriage lasted till 1547, when Henry VIII died.
  • 1536 Died: Desiderius Erasmus, also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, Dutch priest and philosopher, humanist and social critic. He prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament and wrote number of influential works, among them On Free Will, Handbook of a Christian Knight, Julius Exclusus.