Holidays Calendar for February 24, 2018
Estonian Independence Day (Eesti Vabariigi aastapäev) is the national day of Estonia. It marks the anniversary of the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia (the Estonian Declaration of Independence) that was published on February 24, 1918, establishing the Republic of Estonia.
World Bartender Day is a global celebration of bartenders and mixologists and their craft held annually on February 24. Its date was chosen to commemorate the founding anniversary of the International Bartenders Association.
World Sword Swallowers Day, sometimes referred to as International Sword Swallowers Day, is observed annually on the last Saturday of February. It was created to celebrate the exciting and dangerous art of sword swallowing and raise funds to help injured sword swallowers.
National Engineer's Day is celebrated in Iran every year on February 24. A special commemorating ceremony is held to honor the efforts and achievements of the Iranian engineers.
Central Excise Day in India is celebrated on February 24. The holiday was established to recognize the contribution of the Central Board of Excise and Custom. The Board is a government agency responsible for administering matters relating to customs, central excise, service tax, and narcotics.
February 24 is annual celebration of National Artist Day in Thailand. Notable Thai artists in arts, literature, applied arts, performing arts, international dance, shadow play, puppetry, music, drama and film are recognized on this day.
Sweden Finns’ Day (Sverigefinnarnas dag in Swedish or Ruotsinsuomalaisten päivä in Finnish) is celebrated in Sweden on February 24. It was created to commemorate the birthday of Finnish folklorist Carl Axel Gottlund and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Sweden Finns.
Flag Day in Mexico is a national holiday, that is celebrated annually on February 24. The holiday was established by President of Mexico General Lázaro Cárdenas in 1937.
Guru Ravidass Jayanti is a holiday celebrated in some Indian states on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Magh. It is the birthday of Guru Ravidas (also spelled Ravidass), a famous Indian poet, saint, mystic and religious reformer.
Cebu City Charter Day (Araw ng Pribilehiyo ng Lungsod ng Cebu) is a special non-working holiday in the Philippine city of Cebu. It is celebrated annually on February 24 to commemorate the day in 1937 when Cebu was officially granted cityhood.
Zamboanga Sibugay Day (Araw ng Zamboanga Sibugay) is a special non-working holiday in the Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibguay that commemorates its founding anniversary. It is celebrated annually on February 24.
February 24 is National Tortilla Chips Day. It's a good opportunity to celebrate a popular snack food and appetizer that is a staple at Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants.
Peanut butter cups are one of the most popular types of candy in the United States, so it is not surprising that someone came up with the idea of using them as cheesecake decoration. There’s even Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Day, celebrated annually on February 24.
If you have a bottle of wine that you have been saving for a special occasion, but that occasion never seems to come, you should open it on the last Saturday of February because it’s Open That Bottle Night! This holiday was created specifically to encourage people to enjoy wine and share it with their loved ones.
Dragobete is a traditional Romanian holiday, that is observed annually on February 24. This festival is considered as day of lovers, like Valentine's Day.
Curling Day is celebrated in Canada on the last Saturday of February. It was created to honor a winter sport that originated in Scotland but is particularly popular in Canada.
Festivals on February 24, 2018
- Vilnius Book Fair in Vilnius, Lithuania
- New York International Children’s Film Festival in New York, USA
- Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival in Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Latvian Book Fair in Riga, Latvia
- FEST (Belgrade International Film Festival) in Belgrade, Serbia
- Hong Kong Arts Festival in Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- ConFurgence in Melbourne, Australia
- Dublin International Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland
- Brussels Book Fair in Brussels, Belgium
- Dubai Food Festival in Dubai, UAE
- Seoul International Sports & Leisure Industry Show (SPOEX) in Seoul, South Korea
- Gdakon in Gdansk, Poland
- Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair in Bangkok, Thailand
- Bahrain International Garden Show in Manama, Bahrain
- Great British Beer Festival Winter (ex. National Winter Ales Festival) in Norwich, United Kingdom
This Day in History
- 2024 Died: Kenneth Mitchell, Canadian actor known for his role as Eric Green in the CBS television series Jericho and for portraying various characters in Star Trek: Discovery.
- 2022 Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which became the largest attack on a European country since the Second World War.
- 2014 Died: Harold Ramis, American actor, comedian, director, and writer. One of his best-known film acting roles is as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters.
- 2011 Space Shuttle Discovery embarked on its 39th and last mission, STS-133, during which it docked with the International Space Station.
- 2008 Fidel Castro retired as the President of Cuba. The National Assembly of People's Power unanimously voted his younger brother Raúl as president.
- 2008 Died: Larry Norman, American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was one of the pioneers of Christian rock music.
- 2002 Died: Leo Ornstein, Ukrainian-born American composer and pianist of the early 20th century. He was the first important composer to make extensive use of the tone cluster.
- 2001 Died: Claude Shannon, American mathematician, cryptographer, and electronic engineer who is referred to as "the father of information theory".
- 1998 Died: Clara Fraser, American feminist and social political organizer who is known as the co-founder and leader of the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women.
- 1989 Born: Daniel Kaluuya, American actor who had his breakthrough starring in the horror film Get Out, which garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
- 1989 United Airlines Flight 811 experienced a cargo door failure. The resulting decompression caused the deaths of 9 passengers, 38 people were injured.
- 1984 Tyrone Mitchell killed 2 people and wounded 12 while shooting at students at 49th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles. He then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
- 1967 Born: Brian Schmidt, Australian and American astrophysicist who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter.
- 1966 Born: Billy Zane, American actor and producer who is best known for his roles as Kit Walker / The Phantom in The Phantom and John Wheeler in Twin Peaks.
- 1955 Born: Steve Jobs, American entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. as well as the co-founder and CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.
- 1945 Born: Barry Bostwick, American stage and screen actor who is best known for his role as Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- 1942 The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, began. It was a rumored enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage during WWII.
- 1942 Born: Paul Jones (born Paul Pond), English singer, musician, actor, radio presenter, and TV personality. He was the vocalist of the successful 1960s group Manfred Mann.
- 1932 Born: Michel Legrand, French composer, conductor, arranger, and jazz pianist. He is best known for having written over 200 film and television scores.
- 1925 Died: Hjalmar Branting, Swedish politician who was Prime Minister during three separate periods. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize, sharing it with Christian Lange.
- 1925 Born: Bud Day, U.S. Air Force colonel and pilot. As of 2014, he is the only person to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross.
- 1920 The National Socialist German Workers' Party, often referred to as the Nazi Party, was founded. Only persons of "pure Aryan descent" could become its members.
- 1914 Born: Ralph Erskine, English-born Swedish architect and planner. He was responsible for the design of numerous innovative buildings in Sweden, England, and Canada.
- 1898 Born: Kurt Tank, German aeronautical engineer and test pilot who was responsible for the creation of several important Luftwaffe aircraft during WWII.
- 1868 Andrew Johnson became the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He was impeached for intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act.
- 1856 Died: Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician who is known for his work on hyperbolic geometry, also known as Lobachevskian geometry.
- 1815 Died: Robert Fulton, American inventor and engineer who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat Nautilus.
- 1810 Died: Henry Cavendish, British scientist, natural philosopher, important experimental and theoretical physicist and chemist. He discovered hydrogen.
- 1786 Born: Wilhelm Grimm, German academic, linguist, cultural researcher, lexicographer, and author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm.
- 1711 George Frideric Handel's opera Rinaldo was first performed at the Queen's Theater in London. It was the first Italian language opera written for the London stage.
- 1582 Pope Gregory XIII issued the papal bull Inter gravissimas that reformed the Julian calendar and established a new one which is now called the Gregorian calendar.
- 1303 The Battle of Roslin took place in Scotland. It was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence which resulted in the victory of the Scots.