Three holidays on July 21 do not overlap thematically — but each in its own way speaks about one thing: about the choice between what is necessary and what actually is.
A prophet without a home — and a God he saw not where expected
According to the new Julian calendar, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine honor the memory of the Prophet Ezekiel — one of the four great Old Testament prophets. He lived at the turn of the 7th–6th centuries BCE, during the time of Jeremiah and Daniel, and was taken into Babylonian captivity along with part of the Israelite people.
The key moment of his biography — not a miracle or a victory, but a vision: it was in Babylon, far from Jerusalem, that Ezekiel saw God. This became a theological revolution for the captives:
"This vision became a sign that God is present not only in Jerusalem, but everywhere, even among the exiled."
TSN.ua
God addressed him as "son of man" — a formulation that then repeats in the book of Ezekiel hundreds of times. His first prophecies were harsh: he exposed idolatry, injustice, and the moral fall of the people. He is turned to with prayers for wisdom, right choice, and the strengthening of faith.
National Junk Food Day: an American holiday that became a global excuse
July 21 in the United States is National Junk Food Day, an unofficial but widely known holiday in honor of chips, burgers, pizza, and everything that dietitians advise eating as rarely as possible. The holiday has no single founder — it grew out of the culture of "cheat meals" and social networks, where a hashtag turned into an annual ritual.
From a practical angle: research on eating behavior shows that planned "diet-breaking days" reduce anxiety around food and increase overall long-term dietary adherence. So one burger on July 21 — this is not weakness of character, but, by a certain logic, an element of discipline.
National Lamington Day in Australia and "Be Someone Day" in the USA
Australia celebrates Lamington Day on July 21 — a square sponge cake in chocolate glaze with shredded coconut, which is considered an unofficial national dessert. And the American "National Be Someone Day" — a call to find a person for whom you can become a meaningful presence: a mentor, a friend, simply someone who called first.
Both holidays are local in origin, but indicative: the first speaks of identity through food, the second — about the fact that presence in someone's life is a conscious choice, not an automatic consequence of proximity.
What is common in these three
Ezekiel preached to people who could have not listened to him — and did it just the same. Junk food day exists precisely because most days are not like that. "Be someone" makes sense only when you don't think about it the rest of the time.
All three holidays work as an exception to the rule — and that is precisely what makes the rule visible.
If "junk food day" truly reduces dietary anxiety in the long term — shouldn't Ukrainian dietitians officially include it in their recommendations, or will it remain a marketing trick without clinical evidence?
