Today is Friday, December 13: day 348 of the Gregorian year. The year ends in 18 days.
The sun will rise at 8:52 Moscow time, and will set at 15:57. At 12:24 the sun will be at its zenith.
Daylight hours will last 7 hours 4 minutes, and darkness will last 16 hours 56 minutes.
Church holidays
Week 25 after Pentecost. Nativity Fast. Day of Remembrance of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
Name days: Andrey, Ivan.
Secular holidays
Today Russia celebrates Bear Day.
Malta celebrates Republic Day on December 13, while Switzerland hosts the traditional Escalade festival.
Events of December 13
In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to discover New Zealand.
In 1974, Stanislav Kurilov escaped from the USSR by jumping off a plane and swimming about 100 km.
In 1989, Vladimir Zhirinovsky created the opposition party LDPSS, which later became the LDPR.
In 2003, Saddam Hussein was arrested.
Who was born on December 13
In 1797, the German poet Heinrich Heine was born.
In 1873, the writer Valery Bryusov was born.
In 1927, People's Artist of the USSR, actor Leonid Markov was born.
In 1930, People's Artist of the RSFSR, actor Nikolai Rybnikov was born.
In 1950, People's Artist of Russia, singer Lyudmila Senchina was born.
In 1989, singer Taylor Swift was born.
Folk omens
If it's a snowy day, it means a good harvest next summer.
Winter is expected to be mild if there is frost on the trees.
A starry night means frost.
Fog in the morning foretells a quick warming.
Author: Dmitry Bobrov
