April

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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days.

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

HistoryEdit

File:Breviarium Grimani - April.jpg

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, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 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 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 the Etruscan name 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 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 was 29 days long. The 30th day was added back 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.<ref name="Chisholm1911">{{#if: |

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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.<ref name="Chisholm1911"/> 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, the month when plants start growing. It was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript.<ref name="KoledarDPG2007">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The month April originally had 30 days; Numa Pompilius made it 29 days long; finally, Julius Caesar's calendar reform made it 30 days long again, 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 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 Urbana (April 23), Robigalia (April 25), and Serapia (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. 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 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.<ref name="Chisholm1911"/>

SymbolsEdit

File:Diamond.jpg

Faceted diamond

April's birthstone is the diamond. The birth flower is the common daisy (Bellis perennis) or the sweet pea.<ref>Kipfer, Barbara Ann (1997) The Order of Things. New York: Random House</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zodiac signs are Aries (until April 19) and Taurus (April 20 onward).<ref>The Earth passed the junction of the signs at 14:45 UT/GMT on April 19, 2020, and will pass it again at 20:33 UT/GMT on April 19, 2021.</ref><ref name=astrology>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Signs in UT/GMT for 1950–2030.</ref>

File:Daisy ntgr.JPG

Daisy flower

File:Sweet Pea (27711557850).jpg

Sweet pea

ObservancesEdit

This list does not necessarily imply official status or general observance.

Month-longEdit

File:Kobelwald Kirche Bild Chor.JPG

A fresco in a Catholic church in Switzerland representing the Resurrection of the Lord

In Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox tradition, April is the Month of the Resurrection of the Lord. April and March are the months in which the moveable Feast of Easter Sunday is celebrated.
National Pet Month (UK)

United StatesEdit

Arab American Heritage Month
Autism Awareness Month<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Cancer Control Month
Community College Awareness Month
Confederate History Month (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Virginia)
Financial Literacy Month
Jazz Appreciation Month
Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month
Month of the Military Child<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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National Poetry Month
National Poetry Writing Month
Occupational Therapy Month<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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National Prevent Child Abuse Month
National Volunteer Month
Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month
Rosacea Awareness Month<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Sexual Assault Awareness Month

United States food monthsEdit

Fresh Florida Tomato Month
National Food Month
National Grilled Cheese Month
National Pecan Month
National Soft Pretzel Month
National Soyfoods Month

Non-GregorianEdit

(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)