April Observances

In sixteenth-century France, the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools." They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make them believe that something false was true. In France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril." French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs. When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d’Avril!" (April Fish!)

http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/april.html

5 th. Tomb-Sweeping Day

The Chinese respect for filial piety and careful attention to funeral rites is visibly manifested in the custom of ancestor worship. And since ancient times, a day has been designated for sweeping the tomb and honoring one's ancestors. Though different in each family, these rites are usually performed on the first few days prior to or following Ching Ming, one of the traditional solar divisions falling in early April, when the frost retreats and spring returns bringing renewal to all living things. In 1935, the government of the Taiwan designated Ching Ming as Tomb Sweeping Day to further heighten the significance of this occasion.

http://www.taiwaninfo.org/info/festival_c/tomb_e/tomb.htm

6 th. Islamic New Year

The Islamic year is based on the lunar cycle, consisting of twelve months of 29 or 30 days each, totaling 353 or 354 days. Each new month begins at the sighting of a new moon. Actual dates may differ by a day or two from the above dates. In many places, the moon-sighting is often determined in advance by astronomical calculations.

13 th. Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day is a day that has been set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust and for reminding Americans of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred and indifference reign. The United States Holocaust Memorial Council, created by act of Congress in 1980, was mandated to lead the nation in civic commemorations and to encourage appropriate Remembrance observances throughout the country.

http://www.ushmm.org/dordates.html

14 th. Pan American Day

15 th. Tax Day

This is, I suspect, the worst day for alot of americans. Taxes due or else day.

16 th. Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, in Christianity, Sunday before Easter, so called from the custom of blessing palms and of carrying portions of branches in procession, in commemoration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The custom may be traced back at least to the 4th century.

http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/39/0391E000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1

19 th. Women's Celebration

20 - 26 th. Passover

Passover, important Jewish festival commemorating the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and their safe flight across the Red Sea (see Judaism: Festivals). This flight, described in the Book of Exodus, was led by Moses. The celebration of the holiday begins after sundown on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, about the time of the vernal equinox.

http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/5C/05CCF000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1

21 st. Good Friday

Good Friday, Friday immediately preceding Easter, celebrated by Christians as the anniversary of Christ's crucifixion. The name Good Friday is generally believed to be a corruption of God's Friday. Since the time of the early church, the day has been dedicated to penance, fasting, and prayer.

http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/0C/00C54000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1

22 nd. Earth Day

Earth Day, event first observed internationally on April 22, 1970, to emphasize the necessity for the conservation of the world's natural resources. Starting as a student-led campus movement, initially observed on March 21, Earth Day has become a major educational and media event. Environmentalists use it as an occasion to sum up current environmental problems of the planet: the pollution of air, water, and soils; the destruction of habitats; the decimation of hundreds of thousands of plant and animal species; and the depletion of nonrenewable resources.

23 rd. Easter Sunday

Easter, annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the principal feast of the Christian year. It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. The dates of several other ecclesiastical festivals, extending over a period between Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter) and the first Sunday of Advent, are fixed in relation to the date of Easter.

24 th. Children's Day

28 th. Floralia

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