Even the Mayor’s Office is not aware of how old Moscow is. For the lack of accurate data, we celebrate the anniversary of the city being mentioned in annals, instead of its foundation day. As Hypatian Chronicle informs every school child, the record dated 1147 reads: “… Yuri said: ‘Be my guest in Moscow, brother’.” It means that Prince of Vladimir and Suzdal Yuri Dolgoruky invited to Moscow the Prince of Chernigov with his sons and gave a dinner in his honor. The annalists say that “the dinner was abundant.”
According to the tradition started in 1947, we celebrate the anniversary of this dinner in September. However, we are mistaken. The memorable feast was organized when snow was still lying in the fields, yet the spring streams were running already. The meeting in Moscow took place on the 5th day of the week devoted to the Laudation of the Mother of God in early 1147. At that time, the year started in March, and Friday of the fifth week of the great fast fell upon April 4 in 1147.
