September 5 is marked around the world as International Charity Day and, less formally, as a day dedicated to lateness. Orthodox Christians honour the memory of Saint Loup of Thessalonica and the hieromartyr Irenaeus, while Russian folk tradition calls the date Lupp Brusnichnik, the lingonberry-picking day.
The occasion brings together a mix of international observances, church commemorations, old folk beliefs and a list of notable birthdays, from the Queen frontman Freddie Mercury to Russian actress and cosmonaut Yulia Peresild.
International Day of Charity
September 5 marks the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa in 1997. The Roman Catholic Church canonised her in 2016, and Catholics mark the date as her feast day, while the United Nations designated it globally as the International Day of Charity in 2012 to draw attention to the work of volunteers and charitable foundations.
Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun and missionary known for her work with the poor and dying in Calcutta, India, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.
According to data cited for 2025, more than 50 percent of Russians make charitable donations.
Orange Day
September 5 is also observed informally as Orange Day. In art therapy, yellow and orange shades are considered to improve not only emotional state but also general physical wellbeing, making the day an occasion for a family drawing evening or for wearing bright colours before autumn's muted tones set in.
Other observances marked around the world on September 5 include World Samosa Day, World Spinal Cord Injury Day and the Day of Lateness.
Amazon Rainforest Day in Brazil
Brazil marks the Day of the Amazon Rainforest on September 5. The Amazon basin holds the largest forested area on Earth, often called the lungs of the planet, and the day is meant to draw attention to environmental threats to the region, particularly deforestation.
Due to intensive logging and increasingly frequent fires, the Amazon's forests are now said to emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb, meaning the rainforest itself has begun posing a risk to the environment rather than only protecting it.
Elsewhere, September 5 is also marked as the Day of the Languages of the Peoples of Kazakhstan, Teacher's Day in India, and National Cheese Pizza Day in the United States.
Orthodox feast day of Saint Loup of Thessalonica
The Orthodox Church marks September 5 as the feast day of Saint Loup of Thessalonica, a martyr who lived at the turn of the third and fourth centuries in what is now Thessaloniki, Greece.
According to tradition, Loup was a devoted servant of Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica. Present at his master's death, Loup soaked his own clothing in Demetrius's blood and took his ring. Invoking Demetrius's name while holding the robe and ring, Loup was said to have performed miracles, including destroying pagan idols and surviving persecution unharmed. He later surrendered himself to his persecutors and was beheaded by the sword on the order of Emperor Maximian.
The Orthodox calendar also marks the leave-taking of the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on September 5, along with the memory of the hieromartyr Irenaeus and Saint Callinicus I.
Folk beliefs for September 5
In old Russian tradition, September 5 was kept as Lupp Brusnichnik, a day for gathering lingonberries in the forest, harvesting flax and carrying out ordinary household chores.
Folk belief holds that September 5 is a good day for a wedding or for confessing one's feelings, but that lending money on this day risks giving away one's own luck along with it. A wedge of cranes seen in the sky is said to signal an early winter, while evening fog is taken as a sign of good weather to come.
Freddie Mercury's birthday
September 5 is the birthday of Freddie Mercury, the British rock singer, songwriter and frontman of Queen, born in 1946 and died in 1991. Mercury performed the band's biggest hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Are the Champions" and "Don't Stop Me Now."
In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine placed Mercury 14th on its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time. The 2018 film "Bohemian Rhapsody," about the musician's life, won actor Rami Malek an Oscar for his portrayal of Mercury.
Yulia Peresild and other birthdays
Also born on September 5 is Russian actress Yulia Peresild, now 42, who became the fifth woman from the Soviet Union or Russia to travel to space. In 2021, Peresild spent 12 days aboard the International Space Station, where she filmed scenes for the movie "The Challenge" alongside director Klim Shipenko.
Peresild has appeared in films including "Petrov's Flu," "The Bremen Town Musicians," "Battle for Sevastopol" and "The Mediator."
Others born on September 5 include the Russian writer and poet Aleksey Tolstoy (1817-1875), a third cousin of the novelist Leo Tolstoy, author of "War and Peace"; American actor Michael Keaton, 75; and South Korean figure skater and Olympic champion Kim Yuna, 36.
