April

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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days.

April begins (astrologically) with the sun in the sign of Aries and ends in the sign of Taurus. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Pisces and ends in the constellation of Aries.

The derivation of the name (Latin aprilis) is uncertain. The traditional etymology from the Latin aperire, "to open," in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open," is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of ἁνοιξις (opening) for spring. Since all the Roman months were named in honour of divinities, and as April was sacred to Venus, the Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her Greek name Aphrodite, or from the Etruscan name Apru. Jacob Grimm suggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, Aper or Aprus

The Anglo-Saxons called April Oster-monath or Eostur-monath, the period sacred to Eostre or Ostara, the pagan Saxon goddess of spring, from whose name is derived the modern Easter. 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. In China the symbolical ploughing of the earth by the emperor and princes of the blood takes place in their third month, which frequently corresponds to our April; and in Japan the feast of Dolls is celebrated in the same month.

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.

April was originally the second month of the Roman calendar and had 29 days. Julius Caesar's calendar reform in 45 BCE resulted in April having 30 days and becoming the fourth month, as the year now began in January.

1 The Tragic Month of April
2 Trivia
3 Events in Aprils
4 See also
5 References

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The Tragic Month of April

Wars that started/ended in April include

American Revolution Started (Paul Revere's Ride: April 18-19 1775)
American Civil War (Started April 1861, Ended April 1865, thus "Across 5 Aprils")
World War II (Germany Surrenders in April, 1945)
The Bosnian War began in the first days April 1992
The Rwandan Genocide began in April 1994

Other Tragedies that have occurred in the month of April include

President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination (April 14, 1865)
1906 San Francisco Earthquake (April 18, 1906)
The sinking of the RMS Titanic (April 14-15,1912)
The Armenian Genocide (April 24, 1915)
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated (April 4, 1968)
Super Tornado Outbreak (April 3-4, 1974)
Chernobyl nuclear accident (April 26, 1986)
The bloody end to the Branch Dividan siege in Waco, Texas (April 19, 1993)
The Oklahoma City Bombing (April 19, 1995)
In Lebanon, 102 Lebanese civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the UN compound at Qana (see Qana Massacre). (April 18, 1996)
Columbine High School shooting (April 20, 1999)

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Trivia

April begins on the same day of week as July in all years and also January in leap years.
April's flower is the daisy and sweet pea.
April's birthstone is the diamond.

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Events in Aprils

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Monthlong events in April

Chocolate Eaters Month
Poetry Month
Cancer Control Month
Marcus H. Birthday (National Holiday in Australia)
Child Abuse Prevention Month
International Guitar Month
Mathematics Education Month
National Humor Month
National Welding Month
VD Awareness Month
Stress Awareness Month
Alcohol Awareness Month
Autism Awareness Month

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Weeklong events in April

1st Week in April

Medic Alert Week
Cherry Blossom Festival
Publicity Stunt Week
National Birthparents Week
Week of the Young Child
Straw Hat Week
National Bake Week (begins 1st Mon)
Consider Christianity Week
National Reading a Road Map Week

2nd Week in April

Be Kind to Animals Week
Masters Golf Tournament
National Medical Laboratory Week
Private Property Week (10th-16th)
National Library Week
Harmony Week
National Garden Week
TV Turn-Off Week
National Guitar Week
National Building Safety Week
National Home Safety Week

3rd Week in April

National Police Week
Boys and Girls Club Week
National Coin Week
Bike Safety Week
National Bubblegum Week
Pan American Week
National Week of the Ocean
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
National Volunteer Week
National Adult Films Week

Last Week in April

Forest Week
National Lingerie Week
Canada-US Goodwill Week
Big Brothers/Sisters Appreciation Week
Consumer Protection Week
National TV-Free Week
Jewish Heritage Week
Keep America Beautiful Week
National YMCA Week
Professional Secretaries Week
Intergenerational Week
Reading Is Fun Week
Egg Salad Week
Teacher Appreciation Week (begins Last Mon)

A Week in April

Astronomy Week (determined by 1st Quarter Moon)

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April Movable Daily Holidays

1st Sunday

Set-Your Clock-Forward-Day (Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States; turn your clock ahead at 2:00 a.m.)
Budoha Day (Hawaii)
Vesak (Buddha's Birthday)

1st Saturday

Saturday Market Day (Oregon)

1st Saturday before 5th

Tax Saturday (UK)

1st Thursday

Glarus Festival (Switzerland)

1st Friday

Student Government Day (Massachusetts)

Friday after 1st

Arbor Day (Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Mohave, Yavapai; Arizona)

2nd Friday

Audubon Day

3rd Sunday & Monday

Sechselauten (Six Ringing Festival; Switzerland)

3rd Monday

Patriot's Day (Maine, Massachusetts)
Boston Marathon

Thursday between 19th & 26th

First Day of Summer (Iceland)

Saturday nearest St. George's Day (23rd)

Peppercorn Day (Bermuda)

Monday nearest Feast Day of St. George (23rd)

St. George's Day (Newfoundland)

Sunday after 1st full moon after vernal equinox following Passover

Lambri (Bright Day; Greece)

3rd Monday

Patriots' Day (Maine, Massachusetts)

4th Monday

Fast Day (New Hampshire)

4th Thursday

Take Our Daughters (and Sons) to Work Day

4th Weekend

Just Pray No weekend

Last Monday

Confederate Memorial Day (Alabama, Mississippi)

Last Friday

Arbor Day
Bird Day

Wednesday of Last Full Week

Administrative Professionals Day

Last Saturday

National Sense of Smell Day (USA)

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April Indeterminate Holidays

Full Moon Day of 6th Buddhist month (@ Apr/May)

Vesak

Sun enters Aries

Solar New Year (Southeast Asia)
aka Thingyan (Burma)
aka Songkran (Thailand)

10th through 15th Day of 2nd lunar month

Paro Tsechu (Bhutan)

During planting season (@ Apr/May)

Tyi Wara (Mali)

Early April to late July (every 4 years)

Summer Olympics begin

Late April or May

Alp Aufzug (Switzerland)

Before 1st rainfall (@ Apr/May)

Bobo Masquerade (Burkina Faso)

Sometime in April

World Championship Cow Chip Throwing Contest
Palm Sunday - Christian
Palm Sunday - Armenian Christian
Good Friday - Christian
Easter - Christian
Pesach (Passover) - Jewish

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Other special days

April Fools' Day (April 1)

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References

Chambers's Book of Days
Grimm's Geschichte der deutschen Sprache. Cap. "Monate"
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.