April

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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early Julian, the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days.

April is commonly associated with the season of autumn in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, and spring in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

History

The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis[1] but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the verb aperire, "to open", in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open", which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of άνοιξη (ánixi) (opening) for spring. Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, her Veneralia being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her equivalent Greek goddess name Aphrodite (Aphros), or from the Etruscan name Apru. Jacob Grimm suggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, Aper or Aprus.[2]

April was the second month of the earliest Roman calendar,[3] before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days. The 30th day was added during the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, which produced the Julian calendar.

The Anglo-Saxons called April ēastre-monaþ. The Venerable Bede says in The Reckoning of Time that this month ēastre is the root of the word Easter. He further states that the month was named after a goddess Eostre whose feast was in that month. It is also attested by Einhard in his work, Vita Karoli Magni.

St George's day is the twenty-third of the month; and St Mark's Eve, with its superstition that the ghosts of those who are doomed to die within the year will be seen to pass into the church, falls on the twenty-fourth.[3]

In China the symbolic ploughing of the earth by the emperor and princes of the blood took place in their third month, which frequently corresponds to April.[3] In Finnish April is huhtikuu, meaning slash-and-burn moon, when gymnosperms for beat and burn clearing of farmland were felled.

In Slovene, the most established traditional name is mali traven, meaning the month when plants start growing. It was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript.[4]

The month Aprilis had 30 days; Numa Pompilius made it 29 days long; finally Julius Caesar’s calendar reform made it again 30 days long, which was not changed in the calendar revision of Augustus Caesar in 8 BC.

In Ancient Rome, the festival of Cerealia was held for seven days from mid-to-late April, but exact dates are uncertain. Feriae Latinae was also held in April, with the date varying. Other ancient Roman observances include Veneralia (April 1), Megalesia (April 10–16), Fordicidia (April 15), Parilia (April 21), Vinalia Urbana, Robigalia, and Serapia were celebrated on (April 25). Floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, and lasted until May 3. However, these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.

The Lyrids meteor shower appears on April 16 – April 26 each year, with the peak generally occurring on April 22. Eta Aquariids meteor shower also appears in April. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with peak activity on or around May 6. The Pi Puppids appear on April 23, but only in years around the parent comet's perihelion date. The Virginids also shower at various dates in April.

The "Days of April" (journées d'avril) is a name appropriated in French history to a series of insurrections at Lyons, Paris and elsewhere, against the government of Louis Philippe in 1834, which led to violent repressive measures, and to a famous trial known as the procès d'avril.[3]

April symbols

April observances

This list does not necessarily imply either official status nor general observance.

Month-long observances

Buddha's Birthday is celebrated in April (here is pictured the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong)

United States

United States Food months

Non-Gregorian observances: 2018

Movable observances, 2018 dates

First Sunday

First Saturday

First full week

First Sunday
First Wednesday

Second Sunday

Week of April 14

Second Wednesday
Second Thursday
Second Friday of April

Week of the New Moon

Third Monday:April 16

Third Wednesday: April 18

First Thursday after April 18: April 19

Third Thursday: April 19

Third Saturday: April 21

Week of April 23: April 22-28

Last full week of April: April 22-28

Last Wednesday: April 25
Wednesday of last full week of April: April 25
Fourth Thursday: April 26

Last Friday in April to first Sunday in May: April 27-May 6

April 27 (moves to April 26 if April 27 is on a Sunday): April 27
Last Friday: April 27
Last Saturday: April 28
Last Sunday: April 29
Last Monday: April 30

Movable Western Christian observances – 2018

Easter Week
Post Easter

Movable Eastern Christian observances – 2018

Fixed observances

See also

References

  1. ↑ "April" in Chambers's Encyclopædia. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 497.
  2. ↑ Jacob Grim Geschichte der deutschen Sprache. Cap. "Monate"
  3. 1 2 3 4  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "April". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 230.
  4. ↑ "Koledar prireditev v letu 2007 in druge informacije občine Dobrova–Polhov Gradec" [The Calendar of Events and Other Information of the Municipality of Dobrova–Polhov Gradec] (PDF) (in Slovenian). Municipality of Dobrova-Polhov Gradec. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2013.
  5. ↑ Kipfer, Barbara Ann (1997) The Order of Things. New York: Random House
  6. ↑ "U101 College Search". Archived from the original on 2012-09-11.
  7. ↑ "National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 8–14 2018". ovc.ncjrs.gov.
  8. ↑ communications (April 21, 2014). "Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week".
  9. 1 2 Seol Song Ah (7 December 2015). "Kim Jong Un's birthday still not a holiday". Daily NK. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
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