Today is Tuesday, December 17: day 352 of the Gregorian year. The year ends in 14 days.
The sun will rise at 8:56 Moscow time, and at 15:57 it will go below the horizon. At 12:27 the luminary will be at its zenith.
Daylight hours will last 7 hours 1 minute, and darkness will last 16 hours 59 minutes.
Church holidays
Week 26 after Pentecost. Nativity Fast. Day of Remembrance of the Great Martyr Barbara and the Martyr Juliana.
Name days: Varvara, Vasily, Ivan, Nikolai, Dmitry, Alexander, Gennady, Alexey, Ekaterina, Kira.
Secular holidays
On December 17, Russia celebrates the Day of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Armed Forces.
This day also marks the Day of the Formation of the Russian Courier Service and Courier Day.
Today Belarus celebrates Cinema Day, and Bhutan celebrates Bhutan National Day.
Events of December 17
In 1926, the first population census was conducted in the USSR.
In 1959, the Strategic Missile Forces of the USSR were created.
In 1989, the first episode of the animated series "The Simpsons" was released.
In 2010, the self-immolation of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi marked the beginning of the revolution in Tunisia and the entire "Arab Spring".
Who was born on December 17
In 1905, People's Artist of the USSR, director Iosif Kheifits was born.
In 1928, People's Artist of the USSR, actor Leonid Bronevoy was born.
In 1936, the current head of the Catholic Church, Francis, was born.
In 1968, model Svetlana Bondarchuk was born.
In 1975, actress Milla Jovovich was born.
In 1996, figure skater Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was born.
Folk omens
A clear and frosty day promises a late arrival of spring.
The snowfall promises a rich harvest of flax and wheat.
Warm weather foretells a mild winter.
If it rains on Varvara, there will be severe floods in the spring.
