This article is about the month. For other uses see April (disambiguation). January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December << April >> Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2011

April (pronunciation) (helpinfo) is the fourth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of four months with a length of 30 days. April was originally the second month of the Roman calendar before January and February 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 derivation of the name (Latin Aprilis) is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the Latin 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 (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 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 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.1

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. 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 our Aprilcitation needed. The Finns called (and still call) this month huhtikuu or 'Burnwood Month' when the wood for beat and burn clearing of farmland was felled.2

The "Days of April" (journes 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 procs d'avril.2

The birthstone of April is the diamond and the birth flower is typically listed as either the Daisy or the Sweet Pea.3

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.

April starts on the same day of the week as July in all years and January in leap years. April ends on the same day of the week as December every year. Contents 1 April holidays and events 2 April symbols 3 See also 4 References April holidays and events April from the Trs Riches Heures du duc de Berry Buddha's Birthday is celebrated in April (here is pictured the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong) Autism Awareness Month (United States) Jazz Appreciation Month (United States) National Poetry Month (United States) Sexual Assault Awareness Month (United States) National Poetry Writing Month National Arab American Heritage Month (United States) National Child Abuse Prevention Month (United States) April Fools' Day April 1 April 1 is the first day of Japanese fiscal year. Major Japanese companies usually have Nyushashiki (entry ceremony for companies) for new employees those who newly hired after their graduation from schools on this day. Japanese school calendar also starts from April 1 although Nyugakushiki (entry ceremony for schools) are usually held later around second week of April. Good Friday (Christians) a Friday between March 20 and April 23 being the last Friday before Easter Easter or Resurrection Day (Christians) - celebrated the First Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21st Arbor Day (Korea) April 5 End of Tax Year (UK) April 5 Passover (Hebrew:) a Jewish holiday World Health Day April 7 Buddha's Birthday Traditional Date  April 8 Araw ng Kagitingan also known as "Bataan Day" (Philippines)  April 9 Thai New Year in Thailand  April 13 Lao New Year in Laos April 13 Khmer New Year in Cambodia  April 13 Tax Day (US) April 15 Boston Marathon Third Monday 4:20 April 20 Patriots' Day April 21 Earth Day April 22 Conch Republic Independence Celebration (Key West Florida)  April 23 St George's Day Patron Saint Celebration (England Europe)  April 23 Armenian Genocide Day Armenian Genocide remembrance day  April 24 ANZAC Day (Australia and New Zealand)  April 25 Carnation Revolution (Portugal)  April 25 Resistance day in Slovenia - formerly Liberation Front of the Slovene People day April 27 Freedom Day (South Africa)  April 27 April 29 is a Japanese national holiday as Shwa Day since 2007. It has been celebrated as The Emperor's Birthday from 1927 to 1988 then renamed as Greenery Day after Hirohito's death in 1989. It is usually marked as the first day of "Golden Week" a week-long holiday period. Koninginnedag in the Netherlands / Kingdom of the Netherlands  April 30 Arbor Day last Friday of April in United States Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day usually fourth Thursday (United States) London Marathon usually fourth Sunday Opening Day first Sunday in April Independence day (Syria)  April 17 Record Store Day usually celebrated on the third Saturday April symbols April's birthstone is diamond which symbolizes innocence. Its birth flower is the daisy and sweet pea.4 See also Anglo-Saxon calendar List of historical anniversaries References Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: April Wikimedia Commons has media related to: April Look up April in Wiktionary the free dictionary. Jacob Grim Geschichte der deutschen Sprache. Cap. "Monate" a b Chisholm 1911. Kipfer Barbara Ann (1997) The Order of Things. New York: Random House SHGresources.com Attribution  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm Hugh ed (1911). "April". Encyclopdia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. http://www.1911encyclopedia.com/April.  v d eMonths and days of the year January 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 March 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 April 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 July 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 September 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 November 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Related dates January 0  February 30  February 31  March 0