Why is Tatyana's day a holiday of students?

Every resident of the country involved in any type of activity, once a year, celebrates its professional holiday. There is a holiday for students. The day of Tatiana is celebrated annually The 25th of January.

Why Tatiana?

Saint Tatiana (Tatiana) is considered the patroness of students since ancient times. Historical facts indicate the existence of this personality in the early 3rd century AD. Martyr Tatiana was born in Rome, in a rich and noble family. Father, a secret follower of the Christian faith, brought up his daughter in the spirit of worship and service to God. Tatyana spent all her youth in the monastery, helping the needy and taking care of the sick. In 226 AD, during the next persecution of Christians, the girl was captured by pagans. The legend says that when she was brought to the temple of Apollo for sacrifice, the nun prayed, and the strongest earthquake in the history of the country began, the statues of the idols were blown into the smallest pieces, under which many priests perished.

The crowd that came to their senses rushed to the girl who heroically demolished all the torments she had prepared. Eight pagan executioners who saw angels from heaven descend on the saint and take blows from her, believed in the existence of Christ and fell down praying at Tatiana's feet, after which all were executed. However, the girl's torment lasted several days, during which she was subjected to cruel torture (public scourging, meeting with furious, hungry lions, imprisonment in prison), and at the end cut off the head. The Great Martyr Tatyana was recognized as a saint who gave her life for her faith, and the holiday named in her honor was considered special among the rest of Moscow's patronal feasts.

January 25, 1755 on the day of the angel Tatiana Empress Elizabeth signed a decree on the establishment of the university on the territory of Moscow. Later, by the decree of Nicholas I, the celebration was announced not for the opening day of the university, but for the day of signing the decree on its construction. So the Russian students received their professional holiday - St. Tatiana's Day.

In the 18-19 centuries, Tatyana's day was marked somewhat differently than it is now. He began with the performance of choirs and solemn prayers in the churches of Moscow. The temple of Saint Tatiana, erected at the University of Lomonosov, was closed only with the arrival of Soviet power in the country.

In 1994, on the traditional day of Tatyana, His Holiness the Patriarch of All Russia Alexei II served a festive moleben in the church. At the same time, the All-Church Congress of Orthodox Youth, established at the university, began its work.

Many historians propose to pay attention to the fact that on January 12 (January 25, according to the new style) is the birthday of the daughter of Nicholas II, the princess Tatyana Nikolaevna Romanova, shot with the whole imperial family in 1918.

It was at the beginning of the 20th century that Tatyana's day turned into a favorite festival of student fraternity also because its celebration coincides with the passing of exams of the winter session and the beginning of the holidays. Traditional fun of this time were youth revels with evening gatherings in restaurants, drawings of respectable professors, riding from the mountain on a sleigh, walking with a hymn to Moscow at night. More fun and noisy holiday of youth in those days was not found.

In Soviet Russia, as well as on most holidays, Tatiana's day was rarely mentioned. St. Tatiana's temple was re-opened only in 1994, at the same time in the assembly hall of the university the best students were awarded the institutes founded in honor of its founders - M.V. Lomonosov and II. Shuvalov Award. Today, thanks to the revival of old traditions, as well as in the past, charitable balls, student discos at universities and private parties in honor of the holiday are organized. Tatyana's day is celebrated by students all over the country.