This year, April showers us with some important holidays. Without a doubt, Easter dominates the month. It’s nine days earlier than it was last year, though if you celebrate Orthodox Easter you will have almost another month. The reasons for the shifting dates are covered below. Other notable festivals this month are the Solar New Year festivals. Whether it’s Songkran in Thailand, Pii Mai in Lao or Thingyan in Myanmar, April 14th will be a fun time to be in South-East Asia!
Month info: The word April is rooted in the Latin Aprilis, which is derived from the Latin aperire meaning ‘to open’, which could be a reference to the blossoming of the flowers and trees, a common occurrence throughout the month of April in the Northern Hemisphere. In old English, April was known as Eastre-monath as Easter often falls in April.
Featured Holiday in April
April 3: Easter
Easter (also called Pascha) is generally considered the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed in March or April each year to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year, almost two thousand years ago. (Easter can also refer to the season of the church year, lasting for nearly two months, which follows this holiday and ends around Pentecost)
The name Easter is derived from ‘Ostara’ or ‘Eostre’, a pagan goddess of fertility, whose feast was celebrated on the Vernal Equinox. The word East is also derived from her names, as is Oestrogen, the female hormone. In Saxon culture, the Hare was sacred to Ostara and the modern tradition of the Easter Bunny is a distant echo of that.
The dates when Easter is celebrated varies from year to year. Why is this different to the other main Christian holiday, Christmas day, which is always on December 25th? The problem is that the Gospels are pretty vague on the date of Easter. Matthew, Mark and Luke indicate one date, whereas John indicates a different date.
Another factor is that Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. To early Christians, his return for second time was imminent, therefore they didn’t worry too much about dates.
As the centuries passed, this lack of clarity around the date meant there was no standard date for Easter. For example by the late Third Century, if you travelled around Europe, you could celebrate Easter several times in the space of a few week. In Alexandria, Easter was always April 25th; in Rome it was April 18th and in parts of Gaul, it was celebrated on March 21st. In fact, in parts of Celtic Britain, the crucifixion was commemorated on a Thursday instead of a Friday.
It was only after several attempts to set a standard date for Easter, that the formula of the Alexandrian Church was accepted as the correct way to determine the date. With this method, and a passing nod to the method of calculating Passover, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon whose 14th day is on or after the Vernal Equinox.
Notable Holidays in April
April 13: Thailand: Songkran
The word Songkran is from the Sanskrit language and means the passage of the sun from one sign of the Zodiac to another. That means there are twelve Songkrans each year, but the significance of this Songkran (sometimes called Major Songkran to distinguish it from the others) is when the sun enters the sign of Aries the Ram. This particular event was also closely related to the Vernal Equinox.
The most famous aspect of the Songkran celebrations is the throwing of water. Indeed, Songkran is often known as the Thai Water Festival.
The custom originates from spring cleaning aspect of Songkran. Part of the ritual was the cleaning of images of Buddha. Using the ‘blessed’ water that cleaned the images to soak other people is seen as a way of paying respect and bring good fortune.
April 13: Ramadan
April sees the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The Fast of Ramadan lasts the entire month, which can be 29 or 30 days, depending on sightings of the moon.
Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is a time of worship and contemplation.
During the Fast of Ramadan strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting.
At the end of each day, the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar.
April 25: Australia: Anzac Day
In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of the Germans. They landed at Gallipoli on April 25th, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders.
The assault rapidly became a stalemate, dragging on for 8 months. By the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians back at home and April 25th became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
April 27: South Africa: Freedom Day
The day celebrates freedom and commemorates the first democratic post-apartheid non-racial elections that were held on April 27th 1994, which saw Nelson Mandela elected as President.
The 1994 elections were the first time everyone of voting age of over 18 from all race groups, including foreign citizens permanently resident in South Africa, were allowed to vote. Under the apartheid regime, non-whites had limited voting rights.
Freedom Day is the National Day of South Africa and is a day of glory and remembrance for all South Africans that marks the end of the period of colonialism and Apartheid.
National Days in April
11 countries have their national days in April. How many people in the company do you know from each country? Remember to wish them a happy national day!
| Country | Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Cyprus | April 1 | Cypriot National Day: Marks the start of insurgence against the British in 1955 |
| Senegal | April 4 | National Day: Marks independence and the transfer of power agreement signed with France on 4 April 1960 |
| Israel | April 15 | Yom Ha’atzmaut: Proclamation of independence from the British Mandate of Palestine 1948 |
| American Samoa | April 17 | Flag Day: On 17 April 1900 American Samoa became a U.S. Territory |
| Syria | April 17 | Evacuation Day: Commemorating the evacuation of the last French soldier and independence on April 17, 1946 |
| Zimbabwe | April 18 | Independence Day: Recognition of independence from the United Kingdom in 1980 |
| England | April 23 | St George’s Day: St George is the patron saint of England, not a bank holiday |
| Netherlands | April 27 | Kings Birthday: Marks the birthday of King Willem Alexander. |
| Sierra Leone | April 27 | Independence Day: Marks independence from the UK on 27 April 1961 |
| South Africa | April 27 | Freedom Day: South Africa’s first democratic general election in 1994 |
| Togo | April 27 | Independence Day: Independence from the French-administered UN trusteeship in 1960 |
There is a Day for That!
Throughout the month, there are days set aside to observe all sorts of events, some serious and some not so serious. These days can provide interesting ways to engage employees in diversity issues. The table below shows a selection of these days with some ideas how you could use them within your organization.
| Day | Observance | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | April Fools’ Day | Read: Did you ever fall for an April Fool’s prank? This global tradition has a mysterious past with several theories on why we choose April 1st to play tricks. |
| 11th | National Pet Day | Poll suggestion: Do you have a pet and what animal is it? |
| 20th | National Look Alike Day | Post: Do you have a look alike? Or do you think any of your colleagues look like someone famous? Why not have some fun on your team call and encourage them to share their look alike suggestions for the team! |
| 22nd | Earth Day | Activity: Does your company do anything to mark Earth Day? |
| 23rd | National Talk Like Shakespeare Day | Did you know? William Shakespeare was born and died on the same date – April 23rd – which is also England’s National Day – St. George’s Day. |
| 26th | National Arbor Day | Did you know? Arbor Day was almost called “Sylvan Day,” which means wooded and refers to forest trees. “Arbor” was chosen instead as it is more general and includes forest trees and fruit trees. |
