🕹National Lighthouse Day in 2024

When is National Lighthouse Day in 2024? Do you know it? Can you give an answer immediately and without any hesitations? Would you like to have some prompts from our side? Unfortunately, as a rule, the most part of the modern people have never heard about the existence of this special occasion in the modern calendar. Only a few of them are in the know and the most part of them are the representatives of the particular societies. We find this situation to be an unfair one and this is a reason, why we are going to introduce this special occasion to our followers.

History

Talking about the matter what day Lighthouse Day in 2024 is, we can’t but mention the historical background of this event. To tell you the truth, this direction is among the most requested ones. As a rule, modern people, both men and women, want to know as much as possible about the events of the contemporary calendar.  Unfortunately we know nothing about the establishers of the holiday, as well as about the reasons to hold it in August. However, following the historical data everything started quite a long time ago, in 1789, when the U.S. Congress adopted a particular act, which should guarantee the lighthouse protection as a part of federal support. 

In general, the construction of lighthouses started in the ancient times. Nowadays, it is difficult to tell when the first ones appeared. However, for sure it happened at the period when the navigation on large ships was launched and the sailing became the essential part of the human life. Among the most famous constructions of the past it is possible to mention the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was built a long time ago, in the III century BC to be more exact. Up to the present moment, it belongs to the list of the world wonders.

From the technical point of view, the first lighthouses used fire. Originally the Greeks and Phoenicians took the flames to mark the dangerous passages. In the course of time, people started to use stationary structures, in which there was a provision of a fuel, represented by coal, some oil, and even kerosene.

Meaning

What does Lighthouse Day mean? – Frankly speaking, we are not able to answer this question instead of you. You see, we don’t know you personally and that is why we can’t even predict whether this holiday means something special for you or not. All in all among the representatives of the modern society there are a lot of those people, who are not interested in these constructions, so there is not a great surprise that these men and women are not going to celebrate.

Because of the huge development of modern navigation technologies, the role of lighthouses as a navigational aid has somewhat decreased. Currently the number of operating lighthouses worldwide does not exceed one and a half thousand. Some people do not know why we need these constructions in the contemporary world. After all, there are satellite systems for global positioning and other modern equipment, including echo sounders, sonars etc. Their true importance lies in the fact that any system can fail, and the light source on the horizon is eternal. In this case, not only old items are used. In some places, new ones are being built. They should protect the sea lanes in the conditions of changing navigation and landscape. They will exist for a long time and illuminate the way ships.

Definition

Talking about the question “When is International Lighthouse Day 2024?” we can’t but mention the peculiar features of these items.

They are divided into several types. Everything depends on the place of installation and the functions performed. They may be coastal and floating. The first ones are set on the shore or in the immediate vicinity of it (on islands, reefs, rocks), the second swim away from the coast on special platforms or ships, usually marking the entrance to the port.

According to the function performed, the constructions are distinguished into identification and target. The first ones are single, and the latter must work in pairs. Identification beacons serve to indicate obstacles in dangerous places, as a navigation point, for example, near which you need to make a turn, and also serve as a sign of entry into the port.

Gate lighthouses are much more interesting. They do not just show that “There are rocks! Stop!”, and indicate the route to a specific place. For example, a safe channel when entering the port. They always line up so that it is clear in which direction the ship is moving and what maneuver it needs to perform in order to pass a difficult area. For the first time, such a naming system was introduced in Europe in 1837 and was called the “Leading Lights”. Similar lighthouses are used not only at sea, but also in river navigation.

There is also a daily lighthouse recognition system. To do this, they are painted in a special way, so that when approaching it, it is clear which side of the danger zone it is installed on. White indicates a safe sector, red indicates the region left of the safe sector, and green indicates the right.

Traditions

When is Lighthouse Day in 2024, calendar will surely remind you. The holiday is held on August 7^th annually, it is fixed. So you won’t have any problems with memorizing. Knowing it you will be able to involve any you would like to do it.

The special occasion is not the official one, so you shouldn’t expect that the local authorities will organize something amazing for the surrounding. However, it is not a reason for being worried or upset. You can create a great holiday! What about visiting the nearest lighthouse? – It can be an exciting experience for the whole family. As a rule, these constructions are arranged in the picturesque places, so you can have a picnic in the open air.

If there are no any in the neighborhood, devote this day to discovering something new about these objects. Nowadays there are a lot of books, documentaries, TV programs and magazines about them. So you are free to choose the way you like most of all.

National Lighthouse Day Facts

Investigating the question “What is the date of Lighthouse Day in 2024?” we found out a lot of amazing facts concerning this direction. Today we are going to introduce some of them to our followers.

First of all, we can’t but mention that following the peculiar features of the construction, lighthouses are precisely stationary structures, which are usually installed on the shores. However, sometimes it is possible to find the floating ones. The last ones are mounted by specialists on special pontoons or buoys. The constructions are anchored to the bottom. At the same time here should be told that the functions, which they perform in practice, are more or less similar to the purpose of the stationary structures.

An important step in the history of the construction development was the appearance of a so-called Fresnel lens in 1820. This device made it possible to direct the light in the ship direction. However, it wasn’t a thin beam anymore, but a strong source of light. By the way, this is an explanation why the lighthouses became significantly higher.

The amazing thing is that paintings depicting a lighthouse are considered to be rare. It is strange. Because, for example, modern photographers love them very much, taking them as the most popular themes. In painting, it’s different, but at the same time lighthouses of famous and not very artists are always filled with deep meaning. The lonely object is, first of all, the light of hope and the possibility of salvation in bad weather. Therefore, the pictures are usually filled with a deep philosophical content.