July 26 — What Holiday Is Today and Main Events

On Sunday, July 26, a number of holidays are celebrated in Ukraine and worldwide. Several important events also took place on this day in the past.

On July 26, Ukraine celebrates Trade Workers' Day. It falls on the last Sunday of July. The holiday was established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated June 5, 1995, No. 427/95.  

Also, July 26 is the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. It falls on the fourth Sunday of July. The holiday was initiated in 2021 by the head of the Catholic Church — Pope Francis.

Additionally, July 26 is Holistic Therapy Day. The word "holistic" comes from the Greek holos, meaning "whole." Unlike an approach that focuses only on treating individual symptoms, holistic therapy aims to find and eliminate the causes of imbalance in the body, taking into account lifestyle, stress levels, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and emotional state.

July 26 is also World Tofu Day. Tofu, also known as soy cheese, is made from soy milk by coagulating and pressing it. This product originated in China over two thousand years ago and later became an integral part of the cuisines of Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries in East and Southeast Asia. Today, tofu is popular worldwide not only among vegetarians and vegans but also among people seeking to diversify their diet.

On July 26, Parachutist Day is celebrated in Ukraine. This is an unofficial professional holiday that unites parachute athletes, military personnel, rescuers, instructors, and all who are passionate about parachuting. The date is linked to a historical event that took place on July 26, 1930, when the first mass training jumps from an airplane were conducted. These jumps gave impetus to the development of parachuting, which later gained popularity in Ukraine as a sport, military, and aviation discipline.

What Church Holiday Is Today

On July 26, believers commemorate the Day of the Holy Hieromartyr Hermolaus and those with him. He was a presbyter in the city of Nicomedia. After most local Christians died for their faith, he continued to secretly preach the Gospel. He converted the future great martyr Panteleimon to Christianity and baptized him. For refusing to renounce Christ, Hermolaus, along with two companions — Hermippus and Hermocrates — was arrested. They bravely endured interrogations and torture, remaining faithful to their faith, after which they were executed.

Calendar of Important Events on July 26

657 — The First Fitna, the first large-scale Islamic civil war, began;

811 — Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I died during a clash with the troops of Bulgarian Khan Krum;

1309 — Pope Clement V officially recognized Henry VII as King of the Holy Roman Empire;

1573 — Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga expelled Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki from the capital Kyoto, ending the rule of the Muromachi shogunate;

1600 — The city of Horokhiv in Volhynia was granted Magdeburg rights;

1648 — An unresolved battle took place near Starokostiantyniv between the Cossack detachments of Maksym Kryvonis and the army of Prince Yarema Vishnevetsky;

1676 — Joseph Neliubovych-Tukalsky, Orthodox Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia, and all Rus', died in the Holy Trinity Monastery in Chyhyryn;

1708 — By order of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, Colonel Vasyl Kochubey was executed near Bila Tserkva, accused of treason in favor of Tsar Peter I;

1709 — After the decisive victory in the Battle of Poltava, Peter I arrived in Kyiv, where he stayed for about a month, strengthening his power over Ukraine;

1866 — A peace agreement was concluded in Nikolsburg between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia;

1887 — The first textbook of the international language Esperanto, titled "Международный языкъ" (International Language), was published in Warsaw;

1913 — The Austrian government abolished the constitution of the Kingdom of Bohemia;

1919 — The Makhnovists eliminated Ataman Matvii Hryhoriev, who had significant influence during the Ukrainian Civil War;

1941 — The Ukrainian Society for Aid to the Homeland was founded in Canada;

1945 — The first blast furnace was restored after the war at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol;

1946 — The Society for Nature Protection was established in the Ukrainian SSR to preserve the environment;

1948 — The United Kingdom and the USA signed the terms for implementing the Marshall Plan;

1951 — The first birch bark manuscripts were found in Novgorod;

1971 — The American spacecraft Apollo 15 was launched with crew members D. Scott, A. Worden, and J. Irwin, which successfully landed on the Moon on July 30;

1995 — Representatives of 15 EU countries signed the Convention on the Establishment of Europol — an international organization coordinating the fight against organized crime;

1998 — Circuit City and Good Guys announced a new digital video standard Digital Video Express (DIVX) as an alternative to the popular DVD.

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