September 14 is marked around the world as World Atopic Dermatitis Day, while Orthodox Christians observe Novoletie, the church New Year, and the Russian folk calendar marks the day of Semyon Litoprovodets.
World Atopic Dermatitis Day was established in 2018 on the initiative of the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) and the GlobalSkin alliance of dermatology patient organizations. Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common skin conditions in the world. It is hereditary and occurs in 25 to 30 percent of all people who suffer from allergies. Its main symptoms are itching and skin patches, along with rashes of varying severity.
Other observances marked worldwide
September 14 also marks the anniversary of the founding of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, known as OPEC, in 1960. The organization's founding members were Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. OPEC coordinates oil production policy among its member states and remains one of the most influential blocs in global energy markets.
The day is also marked, according to various calendars, as a day for listening to rustling sounds, Gardener's Day in Russia's Ulyanovsk region, a day for eating a large sandwich, and a day for cream-filled doughnuts.
Orthodox New Year and church calendar
September 14 corresponds to September 1 under the old calendar style, the date fixed for Novoletie at the First Ecumenical Council in the year 325. The tradition was adopted in Russia in 1492, when the Council of Moscow decreed that the New Year be moved from March 1 to September 1. Peter the Great later ordered that Novoletie be celebrated on January 1 instead, making it a secular holiday, while church books kept the earlier date of September 1.
September 14 opens a new cycle of feasts on the church calendar. The first major celebration of the new church year is the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, marked on September 21, or September 8 under the old style.
Other church observances on September 14 include the memory of Venerable Simeon the Stylite, the 40 virgin martyrs and Hieromartyr Ammon of Heraclea, and the Righteous Joshua, son of Nun. The day also honors icons of the Mother of God known as "All-Blessed," Avgustovskaya, Chernigov-Gethsemane, Miasyn and Alexandria. Those celebrating name days on September 14 include Marfa, Natalia, Tatiana and Semyon.
Folk traditions and weather omens
On the folk calendar, September 14 is known as Semyon Litoprovodets. Peasants traditionally used this period to finish harvesting spring grain and sowing rye, since sowing seed was considered inadvisable after Semyon's Day. The date also traditionally marked the start of "zasidki," evening work carried out indoors by firelight.
According to folk beliefs, an overcast morning foretells a cold autumn with prolonged rain, while an abundance of spiderwebs signals an autumn that will be cold but sunny. Swarms of flies are said to mean the weather is about to turn, and geese flying overhead are taken as a sign of an early winter.
Notable birthdays on September 14
Dmitry Medvedev turns 61 on September 14. His presidential term, from 2008 to 2012, was marked by a course toward liberalizing the political system and cooperating with the West, as well as large-scale reforms of the armed forces and a number of state agencies. After stepping down as president, Medvedev served as chairman of the Russian government, and in 2020 he was appointed deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.
The British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, who lived from 1983 to 2011, was also born on this date. She released only two studio albums during her lifetime, one of which, Back to Black (2006), won five Grammy Awards. In 2011 the record was named the most successful album of the 21st century in the United Kingdom.
Winehouse made a significant contribution to popularizing soul and British music more broadly. Alongside her distinctive vocal timbre and eccentric performing style, she was remembered for a personal fashion sense that later influenced numerous designers, including Karl Lagerfeld.
Others born on September 14 include the New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who lived from 1947 to 2026; the Russian comedian Sergei Drobotenko, 57; the English actor Andrew Lincoln, 53; and the Soviet and Russian actor Sergei Artsibashev, a People's Artist of Russia who lived from 1951 to 2015.
