Tatyana's Day is a holiday of students

Tatyana's day is a holiday, about which almost everyone knows, but not everyone knows the history of the appearance of this holiday. Tatyana's day is called a student's day and is celebrated on January 25 (January 12, according to the old style). How did the tradition of this holiday come about? According to legend, in the third century AD. Christian Tatiana (Tatiana) was subjected to severe persecution for devotion to Jesus and true faith in the kingdom of Christ. At that time, the young Emperor Alexander Severus ruled the Emperor, although his mother was a Christian, he himself did not share her convictions, although he was quite loyal to the followers of Jesus Christ. Taking advantage of Alexander's inexperience and inexperience, many of his approximate people easily promoted laws convenient for them, gradually taking power in Rome to their hands.

Some of the people close to the emperor did not approve of the degree of freedom that Christians have recently received. One of them was Ulpian - a member of the state council who bitterly hated believers in Jesus. Ulpian compiled a collection of laws that allowed Christians to be persecuted, and again the blood of martyrs who did not want to worship the pagan Roman gods poured . Among the people who suffered for the faith, was Christian Tatyana. When she was forced to pray the statue of Apollo, the girl, instead of obeying the persecutors, began to pray earnestly to Jesus. The pagan deity collapsed from its pedestal, and the statue split into pieces. After numerous tortures Tatiana was beheaded. Since 235, Christians have celebrated the feast in honor of the Great Martyr Tatiana, who was ranked as a saint.

Special significance of Tatyana's Day is a holiday, the history of which goes back centuries, acquired in the 18th century, when the Empress Elizabeth signed her "Decree on the Establishment of the Moscow University". The project of the University and the very idea of its foundation are known to belong to M.V. Lomonosov and Count II. Shuvalov. They were well aware of how necessary the establishment of such an institution could be for the Russian Empire, and they took all possible measures to implement this idea.

There is a version that Shuvalov introduced the Elizabeth Decree on January 12 (in a new style - January 25), in order to bring joy to the mother, who celebrated her birthday on that day. Since that time, Tatyana's Day, first of all, marks the foundation day of the Moscow University.

Initially, the festival was celebrated without excessive pomposity and included a moleben in the church at the University and small, rather modest celebrations. In the middle of the nineteenth century the situation changed, Tatyana's day, a holiday dedicated to the University, acquired the unofficial status of a student's holiday. Usually the celebration consisted of two parts. The official part included lunch in the university canteen, the rector's address to his students and the best of them awards, church prayer, as well as improvised tours of the University's classrooms and libraries.

The unofficial part, of course, was more saturated. The students had fun as they could, walked around Moscow, sang songs. Popular places for student festivities were Tverskaya and Nikitsky Boulevards, also did not bypass the Trubnaya Square. One of the favorite traditions of students of that time was improvised "cat concerts", which the young people arranged under the windows of the publishing house "Moskovskye Vedomosti". The newspaper Moskovskye Vedomosti was issued by representatives of the University and quite often students, being in high spirits, simply broke windows, throwing them with stones.

On this day, all the differences were blurred: wealthy students had fun in the company of immigrants from poor families, the teachers were walking with their wards. Thus, Tatyana's day is a holiday, which Russian students celebrate with pleasure to this day, has become one of the favorite holidays of representatives of students. Today, January 25 is officially recognized as the Day of Russian Students. Tatyana's Day is a holiday, congratulations with which millions of people annually receive in our country, allowed to revive old traditions and rally the ranks of Russian youth.