Funny holidays - Day of the Awakened Snails

Gastropods with a rudimentary shell appeared on Earth about 600 million years ago Along with jellyfish, snails are considered the most ancient inhabitants of the planet Most representatives of the species are herbivores But there are also predatory snails that eat invertebrate parasites, fish and crustaceans Mollusks move along the ground by muscle contractions of the sole of their feet, secreting mucus to facilitate sliding along the surface Snails do not part with their shells, so they act as an illustration to Cicero’s famous expression Omnia mea mecum porto (“I carry everything I have with me”) In Ancient Egypt and Babylon, gastropods symbolized fertility, in Christian Europe - laziness and sinfulness In Islam they are associated with doubt, in Buddhism - patience and awakening people from ignorance People have long consumed the meat of grape and mountain snails as food and made souvenirs from their shells Shellfish farming is carried out by a branch of agriculture called heliceculture Snails wake up after hibernation in early April with the arrival of warm weather However, unknown jokers established a holiday on this occasion, which falls in the last month of summer On August 17, a funny Day of Awakened Snails is celebrated Mollusks live off the coast of northern seas and reservoirs located in the tropics and subtropics, and the species Helix lucorum lives in river valleys and deciduous forests growing on mountain slopes Snails delight everyone, young and old Observing them is an excellent means of combating worry, anxiety and stress of modern life Therefore, people in many parts of the world celebrate this funny holiday on August 17th Images of ammonite shells, cephalopods that became extinct during the Paleogene era, can be found on the coats of arms of cities and other municipalities They got their name from the ancient Egyptian god Amun The Egyptians painted it on frescoes with spiral-shaped horns It is no coincidence that the Aztec deity of the moon and night Metztli was depicted with a snail shell in his hands Her shell is a symbol of frozen time People associate the shell with the spiral of life, death and resurrection, the cyclical nature of processes, and overcoming the barrier between the spiritual and physical world Snails have long been attributed sacred significance This is partly why the internal structure of the ancient Egyptian pyramids had the shape of a labyrinth, similar to a mollusk shell Christians drew parallels between the annual spring awakening of snails and the resurrection of Jesus Christ The emergence of a child from the mother's womb resembles the process of a snail emerging from its shell Thanks to this, in the culture of many nations it has become a symbol of rebirth and eternity An awakened snail reminds a person of the cyclical nature of the processes of existence Many of us, like mollusks, lock ourselves in shell houses and only occasionally emerge from there The Day of Awakened Snails encourages people to leave their shells, open their souls to the world and become closer to each other