April 1. April Fools Day In sixteenth century France, the start of The
New Year was observed on April first.
Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian
world, and the New Year fell on January first.
Those who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date where
called "April fools." 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 discovered
every one yells "Poisson Avril!" (April Fish!) / Day of Hathor (Ancient
Egypt) / Veneralia (Ancient Rome) Held in honor of Venus. / It was on
this day in 1621 that the first treaty was signed between the American
Colonists and the Indians. Can you say foreshadowing? Coming as it does
on April first I mean.
April 2. Children's Book Day (U.S.) / The Battle of Flowers (France) /
According to the Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft, the day in 1926
that the dread Cthulhu awoke from where he lay dead but dreaming in
R'lyeh only to have a boat driven though his head encouraging him to do
some more dead dreaming until later.
April 3. Buddha's Birthday. However the date does vary, as can been seen
on other days this month / Festival of Demeter (Ancient Rome) / Sizdah
be dar (Iran) "Outdoor 13," Day to play jokes on each other. / It was 64
years Ago that one of the first of female superheroines premiered (8
months before the more famous
Wonder Woman) bucking the trend of the time of meek fictional women.
Black Fury (later Miss Fury) was written and drawn by Tarp Mills a woman
who in her strip touched on violence,
fetish images, subtle lesbian themes and other fun things for boys and
girls of all ages. Along with Miss Fury other comic book characters that
first appeared in April are Veronica Lodge
(Archie's other girlfriend `42,) Nightmare (Casper´s horse `54,) Sgt.
Rock (`59,) Daredevil (`64,) & Fatman the Human Flying Saucer (`67,)
well they can´t all be winners.
April 4. Megalesia (Ancient Rome) / International Day for Land Mine
Awareness and Assistance. / Children's Day (Taiwan and Hong Kong) /
Ching Ming Festival (China & Korea) also know as Tomb Sweeping Day, a
day to honor ones ancestors by cleaning their graves. / on this day in
1877 the first
home telephone was installed.
April 5. Paraprofessional Appreciation Day, (U.S.) sure... tell me what
the heck it means and I'll see what I can do./ Thank Your School
Librarian Day. (U.S.) Arbor Day (South Korea)
April 6. Tartan Day (Scotland) Day set aside for the celebration of
Scottish influence... somebody tell Willie, it's Scotober Fest! / Date
of the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
by Joseph Smith, Jr. and the date, according to them, that Jesus was
born.
April 7. Blajini Day (Romania) A festival to thank the "Kindly Ones"
hidden spirits of water and the underworld./ World Health Day (the 191
members of the World Health Organization)
/ Festival of Pure Brightness (China) / Buddha's Birthday in Japan.
April 8. Buddha's Birthday according to adherents to Zen. / In 1889
there was a fall of sand and chunks of ice during intense darkness in
Aitkin, Minn.
April 9. Valour Day (Philippines) also known as Bataan Day, a national
holiday wherein groups of Filipino citizens solemnly re-walk parts of
the death route and pay homage to those who died on it.
April 10. National Siblings Day (U.S.) / Women's Day (Mozambique)
April 11 Heroes Day (Costa Rica) / Shan-et-Nissin (Egypt) / Fast &
Prayer Day (Liberia) I have looked for the meaning of
Shan-et-Nissin and while I found dozes of places that list it, along
with the one following it here, none however will explain it, and let's
say it means "hey, there's a fast & prayer day in Liberia" in Egyptian
until further notice.
April 12 - 19 Cerealia (Ancient Rome) / Take a Walk on Your Wild Side
Day (U.S.)
/ Cosmonautics Day or Yuri's Night, (Russia) celebration of the first
human in space, Yuri Gagarin. / Drop Everything And Read Day (U.S.)
This along with Children's Book Day & Schoo` Librarian Day are all part
of `Reading in the Schools month, however a school
librarian has told me that as these take place just before the start of
the heaviest testing time in American schools and so are almost all
totally ignored while everything is
concentrated on preparing for the test.
April 13 New Year's Day (Thailand & Cambodia)
April 14. Black Day (South Korea) Celebration day for single people. /
Sanno Festival (Japan) / Dia De Las Americas (Honduras) Day of the
Americas. / National Day of Climate Action in the United States. "Rin
Tin Tin was is a star, I just have a slide show." Al Gore.
April 15. Plowing Festival (China) When my father was 12 he had to plow,
with the plow hooked up to an actual mule... he said there's nothing
festive about plowing. Nothing at all. /
Tipsa Diena (Ancient Latvia) / Father Damien (Hawaii Day) / Arirang
Festival (North Korea) Damn! It's Kim Il-sung's birthday and
I didn't get him a thing. I understand he's a big Daffy Duck fan with
whom he almost shares a birthday. / Fordicia (Ancient Rome) Held in
honor of Terra. / Lincoln Assassinated. And shortly after that starts
the so-called "wild west" era, which was really just a protracted mass
unlea****ng of built up Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome from the Civil
War. / Tax Day (U.S.) Enlightened Birthday Buddha , which ever day it's
on!
April 16. Zurich Spring Festival (well.... Zurich, where else would it
be) / Bicycle Day (U.S.)
April 17 Yayoi Matsuri Festival of Futarasan
Shrine (Nikko Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) /
Daffy Duck's Birthday He first appeared in a
Warner Brothers cartoon in 1937 making this
year his 71th "birthday."
April 18. Flower Festival (Japan) / Sumardagurinn Fyrsti (Iceland) At
first I thought it was Choke my spell checker day. However it turns out
to be Happy Summer Day in Iceland. Sure its still just Spring, but
they're just happy to get out of the house is my guess.
April 19. Garlic Day (U.S.) / Primrose Day
(England) - primroses are placed on the statue
of Benjamin Disraeli in Parliament Square, on
the anniversary of his death in 1881 See,
America isn't the only country with silly arse
holidays.
April 20. Passover (Jewish) / Drum Festival (Japan) / Pineapple Up-Side
Down Cake Day (U.S.) But at least on some of ours you get cake. /
Ridván (Bahá'í Faith) / Four Twenty (Potheads) Started in Northern
California it has grown to other states and counties, day for tokers to
light up at 4:20 am & pm. They need an excuse? And yeah.... like I
they're up at four in the morning.
April 21 Tiradentas Day (Brazil) / Grounation
Day (Rastafarin) Mon. / Parilia (Anicient Rome)
Held in honor of Pales. / Speaking of which,
happy birthday Rome.
April 22. Earth Day. / National Jelly Bean Day (U.S.) Just to give the
Neo-Con Republicans something to do today.
April 23. St. George's Day. Patron Saint of England, Policemen & the Boy
Scouts. Somehow the Patron Saint of England just doesn't have the same
ambiance as St. Patrick's Day, however I've still got my "Don t Kiss Me,
I Disapprove of Public Displays of Affections" button ready. / Lover's
Day (Catalonia) Yeah... I had to look up where it is too, day for men to
give women roses while women give men a book. No really. / National Beer
Day (Germany) Riiiiight, wouldn't it be
easier to note when it's NOT beer day in Germany?
April 24. Children's Day (Iceland) / Armenian Martyr's Day.
April 25. Robigalia (Ancient Rome) Day the
Romans prayed to Robigalla the god of mildew to ask him to spare their
homes...... Don't look at me that way, I'm not kidding! Nobody makes a
fuss about Vulcanalia in August when they prayed to Vulcan for
protection from volcanoes & home fires, and while Vulcan is better
known and still gets "the big props," can you think of one Roman city
destroyed by mildew? Yet there were some biggies where Vulcan let them
down! / Orthodox Good Friday
April 26. Arbor Day. Use to be a day for everyone to go out and plant a
tree, it was a real big deal in it's day, so all you holidays that think
you have it made, Sic transit gloria mundi.
April 27. Orthadox Easter Day / Matazas Mule
Day. Day that the first Naval bombardment in the American - Cuban war
took place is noted. Seems the only casualty was a mule. Good Gods
somebody do something so we have a better holiday for this day! / World
Penguin Day. Sorry, nice try but that's not quit what I was looking for.
April 28 National Day of Mourning (Canada) To
commemorate workers killed, injured, or suffering illness due
toccupational hazards and accidents. / Floralia (Ancient Rome) /
National Hairball Awareness Day. (Veterinary) Day to spread awareness
about hairball treatment in cats, If you don't have a cat what's the
point? And if you're around a cat trying to get rid of one lets see you
try to NOT be aware of it! / Hairstylist Appreciation Day. semi ironic.
April 29. Green Day (Japan) / International Dance Day / National Shrimp
Scampi Day (U.S.)
April 30. Walpurgis Night, Walpurgisnacht, or
Beltane Eve. Said to be a night when the veil between the worlds is at
it's most thin. / Liberation Day (Vietnam) / Children's Day (Mexico) /
Carodejnice (Czech Republic) Witches' Night.
For future reference, images & a couple of Scottish recipes for April
6th go to
http://community-2.webtv.net/magentashadow/DaysofNote/
Terry McCombs
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