International Women's Day (IWD), originally c
alled International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 e
very year.[1] In different regions the focus of the celebrations r
anges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards wo
men to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievement
s. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the cultu
re of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet bloc. In many regions, the day lost its political flavou
r, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in
a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentin
e's Day. In other regions, however, the original political and human ri
ghts theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and politica
l and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out
and examined in a hopeful manner.
The first national Women's D
ay was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declar
ation by the Socialist Party of America.[1] In August 1910, an International Women's Conference was organized t
o precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second Interna
tional in Copenhagen. Inspired in part by the American socialists, German
Socialist Luise Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual 'Internation
al Woman's Day' (singular) and was seconded by communist Clar
a Zetkin, although no date was specified at that conference.[2]<
/a> Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a
strategy to promote equal rights, including suffrage, for women.[3] T
he following year, on 18 March, 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by
over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire
alone, there were 300 demonstrations.[2] In Vienna, women
paraded on the Ringstrasse and carried banners honouri
ng the martyrs of the Paris Commune.[2] Women demanded
that women be given the right to vote and to hold public office. They also
protested against employment sex discrimination.[1] Americans con
tinued to celebrate National Women's Day on the last Sunday in February.
Saints Cyril and Methodius (Greek: Κύριλλο&sigmaf ; καὶ Μεθόδιο&si gmaf;, Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи [more]) were < a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Greeks" title="Byzantine Gre eks">Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century .[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Th ey were Christian missionaries among the Slavic peo ples of the First Bulgarian Empire, Great Moravia , and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cu ltural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title "Apos tles to the Slavs". They are credited with devising the Gla golitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic.[11] After their deaths, their pupils continued t heir missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Orthodox Church as saints with the title of "equ al-to-apostles". In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron s aints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia. [12]
The two brothers were born i
n
Thessaloniki – Cyril in 827–828 and Methodius in 815–
820. Cyril was reputedly the youngest of seven brothers; he was born Consta
ntine,[13] but took the name Cyril upon becoming a monk shortly before
his death,[14[16] according to the "Vita Cyrilli" ("The Life of Cyril"). Their father was Leo, a droungarios of the
Byzantine theme of Thessaloniki, and their m
other was Maria, who may have been a Slav.[17]