Defender of
Ukraine Day is a state holiday in Ukraine celebrated
annually on October 14. Its
first celebration was in 2015. Starting from 2015, this day is
considered a public holiday (this is thus a day off in Ukraine).
On 14 October 2014, a decree by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko decreed the new holiday. This decree was approved by the Ukrainian parliament on 5 March 2015.
The holiday replaced the former February 23's holiday called Defender of
the Fatherland Day, which has its origin in the Soviet Union. (As the Ukrainian SSR Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union from 1922 until Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991.)
The chairman of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Volodymyr Viatrovych motivated the choice of the date for October 14 on the Ukrainian
historical tradition of honoring the Ukrainian army on the day of the Intercession
of the Theotokos. This holiday has been
celebrated by Ukrainians since the 12th century. The holiday was especially popular among Ukrainian Cossacks, who celebrated it since at least the 17th century as they believed the Mother of God (also known as Theotokos) to be their patroness. 14 October is also
the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks.
In an effort to adopt some Cossack traditions the Ukrainian
Insurgent Army chose the day of the
Intercession of the Theotokos to be the official day of their establishment.
On 12 October 2015 the National Bank
of Ukraine put into circulation
50,000 pieces of 5 hryvnia coins with an inscription "Day of Defender of Ukraine".
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