Vesuvius Day is observed on August 24 of each year. The day is commemorated as a remembrance of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and its destruction. The eruption had destroyed the town of Pompeii, and its surrounding areas with the massive death of the more than 20,000 people who resided there. Vesuvius Day marks the single of history’s biggest recorded volcanic explosions.
“The real difficulty about volcanism is not to see how it can start, but how it can stop.” – Harold Jeffreys
History of Vesuvius Day
The first person who established Vesuvius Day is Pliny the Younger who had documented the great eruption. The observance of the day is widely known for Mount Vesuvius eruption that took place in 79 A.D. Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano in Italy, in the region of Naples, and is about 4,200 feet high. The Italian name of Mount Vesuvius is Monte Vesuvio. The history of Europe had witnessed the Vesuvius explosion as one of the most catastrophic volcanic outbursts. The mountain had let out the deadly cloud of tephra and gases to a height of 33 kilometers (21 miles). The molten rock was ejected along with the pulverized pumice, and hot ash at the speed of 1.5 million tons per second. It was estimated to be the thermal energy released 100,000 times by the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings.
The eruption was the cause of the destruction of several Roman settlements. Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried under the ash fall deposits and massive pyroclastic waves of Mount Vesuvius eruption. The total number of residents of the cities was about 16,000–20,000 and the remains of about 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, but the overall death toll is still unknown, however. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the whole world due to the large community of people living nearby. It is only 9 km from Naples with the most highly populated volcanic areas on the planet with around 3,000,000 people.
Other Celebrations on August 24
August 24 is also celebrated as
- International Strange Music Day
- Pluto Demoted Day
- National Peach Pie Day
- National Knife Day
- Internaut Day
How to Celebrate Vesuvius Day
Although celebrating Vesuvius Day is a little sensitive as with the death of many unknown people, yet there is some way in which the observance can be made useful. Watch the Mount Vesuvius documentary and get to know things a little better about Pompeii and Herculaneum. You can visit Mount Vesuvius as it is a national park now and look at things in real. You can post your Vesuvius Day celebrations on social media using the hashtag #VesuviusDay.
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