October 15: Global Handwashing Day and International Day of Rural Women.

Today, October 15, various events are taking place around the world in honor of World Handwashing Day. The event was established in 2008 on the initiative of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, reports UNN.

The goal of this event is to raise awareness among children and adults globally about the importance of personal hygiene practices, particularly washing hands with soap, as it is the most cost-effective and efficient means of preventing infectious diseases.

By the first Handwashing Day in 2008, more than 120 million children from 70 countries had joined the initiative.

The idea of washing hands with soap was first proposed in 1847 by physician Ignaz Semmelweis. At that time, he was working at the Vienna hospital and was concerned about the high rates of child mortality and postpartum fever in women.

Semmelweis recommended that medical staff wash their hands with a chlorinated lime solution. As a result, mortality rates among patients drastically decreased.

Since 1995, October 15 has been celebrated as the International Day of Rural Women.

According to the UN, women living in rural areas make up more than 25% of the world's population.

In Ukraine, prior to the full-scale invasion, rural areas were home to 30-35% of the country's population, with women making up over 50% of that number.

October 15 also marks White Cane Day, an event dedicated to people who are visually impaired.

The history of this symbol for the visually impaired dates back to 1921. A young man from the UK, James Biggs, lost his sight due to an accident. However, he decided to adapt to his situation and continue navigating the streets with a cane.

James quickly realized that a black cane was not helpful in such circumstances, as neither pedestrians nor drivers recognized it. He then painted the cane white to make it more visible. This useful practice was adopted by other visually impaired individuals in England, and later, blind people in Europe and America began to use the white cane.

Since 1988, more countries have been joining the Day of the Missing Child on October 15.

This event is dedicated to the memory of infants who were not born due to miscarriages, those who died from sudden infant death syndrome, stillborn children, and babies who passed away for other reasons.

According to the church calendar, today is the Feast Day of Saint Lucian of Antioch.

Lucian lived in the 3rd century. At a young age, after the death of his parents, he distributed all his family belongings to the poor and decided to dedicate his life to serving the Lord.

The people of Antioch elected him as their bishop. During a time of intensified persecution of Christians, Lucian was imprisoned, where he died from torture and starvation.

According to legend, Lucian's body was thrown into the sea. After 30 days, dolphins brought his body ashore, and the people buried their bishop.

On October 15, the name days are celebrated for Lucian, Denis, Ivan, Semyon, and Dmitry.