Editing April (section)

== History ==
[[File:Breviarium Grimani - April.jpg|thumb|April, Brevarium Grimani, fol. 5v (Flemish)]]

The Romans gave this month the [[Latin]] name ''[[Aprilis]]''<ref name=Chambers>"April" in ''[[Chambers's Encyclopædia]]''. London: [[George Newnes Ltd|George Newnes]], 1961, Vol.&nbsp;1, p.&nbsp;497.</ref> 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 [[wikt:άνοιξη#Greek|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 (mythology)|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 the [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] name ''[[Aphrodite|Apru]]''. [[Jacob Grimm]] suggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, ''Aper'' or ''Aprus''.<ref>Jacob Grimm ''Geschichte der deutschen Sprache''. Cap. "Monate"</ref>

April was the second month of the earliest [[Roman calendar]],<ref name="Chisholm1911"/> before ''[[Ianuarius]]'' and ''[[Februarius]]'' were added by King [[Numa Pompilius]] about 700&nbsp;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&nbsp;BC, when it was 29&nbsp;days long. The 30th day was added back during the reform of the calendar undertaken by [[Julius Caesar]] in the mid-40s&nbsp;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.<ref name="Chisholm1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=April|volume=2|page=230}}</ref>

In [[History of China|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.<ref name="Chisholm1911"/> In Finnish, April is ''huhtikuu'', meaning ''[[slash-and-burn]] moon'', when [[gymnosperm]]s for beat and burn clearing of farmland were felled.

In [[Slovene language|Slovene]], the most established traditional name is ''mali traven'', the month when plants start growing. It was first written in 1466 in the [[Škofja Loka Passion Play|Škofja Loka manuscript]].<ref name="KoledarDPG2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.dobrova-polhovgradec.si/doc/priponke/koledar%20prir%2007%20zadnji.pdf |title=Koledar prireditev v letu 2007 in druge informacije občine Dobrova–Polhov Gradec |language=sl |trans-title=The Calendar of Events and Other Information of the Municipality of Dobrova–Polhov Gradec <!-- |issn=C505-5857 --> |publisher=Municipality of Dobrova-Polhov Gradec |year=2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102060918/http://www.dobrova-polhovgradec.si/doc/priponke/koledar%20prir%2007%20zadnji.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2013 }}</ref>

The month April originally had 30 days; [[Numa Pompilius]] made it 29 days long; finally, [[Julius Caesar]]'s calendar reform made it 30&nbsp;days long again, which was not changed in the calendar revision of [[Julian calendar|Augustus Caesar]] in 8&nbsp;BC. 

In [[Ancient Rome]], the festival of [[Cerealia]] was held for seven days from mid-to-late April, but exact dates are still being determined. [[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|Vinalia Urbana]] (April 23), [[Robigalia]] (April 25), and [[Serapia]] (April 25). [[Floralia]] was held April 27 during the [[Roman Republic|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. The [[Eta Aquariids]] meteor shower also appears in April. It is visible from April 21 to 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 assigned in French history to a [[July Monarchy#April 1834 insurrections|series of insurrections]] at Lyons, Paris and elsewhere, against the government of [[Louis-Philippe of France|Louis Philippe]] in 1834, which led to violent repressive measures, and to a famous trial known as the ''procès d'avril''.<ref name="Chisholm1911"/>