National Unity Day - November 4

For a long time, November was associated with another holiday - anniversary of the October Revolution. In 1996, this holiday was renamed Day of Accord and Reconciliation and was celebrated under that name until 2004. In 2005, he was replaced by the Day of National Unity, celebrated on November 4. Why was this date chosen?

According to the church calendar on November 4, according to a new style (October 22 old), this is Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. On this day in 1612 the troops of the people'sthe militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, entered Moscow in order to free her from the Polish interventionists. They took the China city by storm, forcing the garrison of Rzeczpospolita to retreat to the Kremlin. Pozharsky entered the city of China with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and vowed in honor of this victory to erect a temple.

Twenty-seven years later, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovichannounced October 22, the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, a public holiday. It was celebrated until 1917. In 2004, the Interreligious Council of Russia came forward with an initiative to again make November 4 a public holiday - the Day of National Unity. As a result, on December 27, 2004, amendments were adopted to the Federal Law "On the days of military glory (Victory Days of Russia)". November 7 ceased to be a festive day, and the Day of Unity and Reconciliation was replaced by the Day of National Unity - November 4.

The attitude to this holiday is still quite contradictory. Someone considers it a resurgence of the old traditionand a memory of the heroism of the Russian people, manifested during the liberation from the Polish invaders. November 4 was really the day of unification of the people, the cessation of bloodshed, which marked the end of the Time of Troubles. And their opponents are sure that the introduction of the Day of National Unity is just an attempt to replace November 7, firmly associated with the anniversary of the October Revolution, and not the most successful.

Be that as it may, the Day of National Unity on November 4 is celebrated for the seventh consecutive year. In 2005, the center for the celebration of a new (or well-forgotten old) holiday was Nizhny Novgorod, because it is the Nizhny Novgorod militia (Secondpeople's militia) under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky played a decisive role in liberating Moscow from Polish-Lithuanian interventionists. On November 4, 2005, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was opened in the city.

Also on November 4, the country's president traditionallylays flowers to the monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow. Throughout the country there are festive celebrations and processions, processions, rallies, concerts and sporting events. In many cities, charitable events are timed to this date, because November 4, many are identified with concern for others and support for those who need it.

And on November 7, although it ceased to be a state holiday, it still remains a holiday. This day is celebrated Day of Military Glory in Russia. On this day, we recall the military parade onRed Square in honor of the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution, held on November 7, 1941. It was held during the Moscow battle, when the city was separated from the front line only a few tens of kilometers, and the Red Square was actually in the firing zone.