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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early Julian and one of four months with a length of 30 days.

April (/ˈeɪprɪl/ ⓘ AY-pril) is commonly associated with the season of spring in parts of the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.

April starts on the similar day of the week as July in all years, and January in leap years. April automatically is the last month and ends on the same day of the week as December every year. October of the previous year starts on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a common year and May of the previous year starts on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a leap year. July of the previous year ends on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a common year and February and October of the previous year ends on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a leap year. In years immediately before common years, April starts on the same day of the week as September and December of the following year and in years immediately before leap years, June of the following year. In years immediately before common years, April ends on the same day of the week as September of the following year and in years immediately before leap years, March and June of the following year. In common years immediately after common years, April begins on the same day of the week as January of the previous year while in leap years and years immediately after that, April finishes on the same day of the week as January of the previous year.

Name and origin

April from the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

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 ἁανοιξις (anoixis) (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, 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 Oster-monath or Eostur-monath. The Venerable Bede says in The Reckoning of Time that this month Eostur 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.

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.[citation needed] In Finnish April is huhtikuu, meaning slash-and-burn moon, when gymnosperms for beat and burn clearing of farmland were felled.[3]

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]'

Aprilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She is identified with the Roman goddess Venus

Events in April

Month-long observances

  • Donate Life Month
  • Autism Awareness Month
  • Occupational Therapy (OT)[5] Month
  • Rape Awareness Month
Buddha's Birthday is celebrated in April (here is pictured the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong)

Movable observances

Easter date based (Western Christianity)

Easter Week
Other
  • Store Bededag, celebrated the fourth Friday after Easter in Denmark. 2016 date: April 22.

Easter date based (Eastern Christianity)

Fixed Observances on non-Gregorian Calendars

Fixed observances

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

See also

References and sources

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. ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
  4. ^ "Koledar prireditev v letu 2007 in druge informacije občine Dobrova–Polhov Gradec" (PDF) (in Slovenian). Municipality of Dobrova-Polhov Gradec. 2006. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ http://www.aota.org
  6. ^ "International Trombone Week April 1-15, 2012". International Trombone Association. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  7. ^ "National Healthcare Decisions Day". Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "The Free Dictionary". Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  9. ^ Kipfer, Barbara Ann (1997) The Order of Things. New York: Random House
  10. ^ SHGresources.com
Sources
Wikiquote has quotations related to April.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to April.
Look up April in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for April.
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