Patriots Day is a holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Revolutionary War Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.

These were the first battles of the American Revolutionary War and the quote “the shot heard ’round the world” refers to them. The battles occurred on April 19, 1775 but modern customs dictate that we celebrate on the third Monday of April so a three-day weekend can be enjoyed. It is a public holiday in Massachusetts and Maine.
To celebrate, re-enactors demonstrate how the battles were conducted, and the Boston marathon is run.

If the words April 15 make you cringe, then you must be one of the thousands of Americans who wait until the last minute to file their income taxes. Or maybe you are an incarnation of one of the thousands who died on the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912. Either way, it’s not a pleasant day for you.

Our current system of tax collection was born on February 3, 1913, when Congress passed the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution implementing the personal income tax law. They chose March 1 of the following year as the filing deadline. The deadline was changed to March 15 in 1918. Later Congress decided that the IRS needed more time to process the returns so they pushed the deadline back to to April 15 in 1955.

Once upon a time, man dreamed of a day that he would blast off into space and see the Earth from the stars’ point of view. That day came on April 12, 1961 when 27-year-old Russian cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin made one complete orbit around the Earth. This trip around the globe in the spacecraft Vostok 1 lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes and cemented Yuri into the history books.

On Cosmonautics Day and the corresponding holiday Yuri’s Night (also April 12), ceremonies starts in the city of Korolyov, near a statue of the Yuri statue. A parade then marches (under police escort) to Red Square for a visit to Yuri’s grave in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, and continues to Cosmonauts Alley, a pedestrian-only avenue in Moscow where several busts are placed on the left-hand side in honor of the people crucial to the successes of the Soviet space program. Finally, the festivities are concluded with a visit to the Novodevichy Cemetery, the most famous cemetery in the city and the final resting place for many of the nation’s leaders and scientists.

Haishi Day (or Cold Food Day) has its roots in both legend and tradition. The legend says there was once a brave and loyal subject of the Prince of Jin. This man, Jie Zhi Tui, cut off flesh from his thigh and offered it to the prince in a time when food was scarce. Jie then fled into the mountains with his mother to hide. To bring them out of hiding the Prince set fire to the mountains, hoping to scare them back to town. Instead Jie and his mother were found dead. This led to the Haishi day tradition of burning no fire and eating cold food.
The holiday may have roots based more in the tradition of keeping a fire going throughout each season. Since fire starting wood changes with each season, an ancient practice to light a new fire when winter became spring, spring became summer, summer became winter and winter turned into fall.

A Korean grave-side visitation ceremony, complete with cold food picnic.

Activities during the Cold Food Festival includes the visiting family graves tombs, cock-fighting, playing on swings, beating out blankets (to freshen them), tug-of-war. It is celebrated in various ways in Vietnam and Korea.

In this day of sky-high gas prices, walking to work can be as good for your wallet as it is for your heart. But this holiday, set aside on the first friday of April, is dedicated to highlighting the problem of obesity in America. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this event, now in its fifth year, encourages Americans to get moving. If you live close enough to work, walk or ride a bicycle there. Instead of driving to get lunch, grab a bite somewhere you can walk to. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator can make a big difference over time.

Sizdah be dar is a the last day of Norooz, the Iranian New Year, a celebration that comes from Persian roots and is focused on bringing good luck into the home for the coming year. On Sizdah be dar, the 13th day of the New Year, it is the custom to leave the house for the entire day because in Iranian culture 13 is an unlucky number and so they want to be outside the house. Seezdah means 13 and Bedar means away or out. Most folks have day-long picnics outside or attend events staged in parks. They also throw pieces of sabzeh (sprouted wheat or lentils) into a river to wash away the bad luck. It is a custom to tie pieces of grass together and to make a wish for the coming year.

Founded in 1967 by the International Board on Books for Young People, International Children’s Book Day is an occasion to bring the magical world of literature to children around the globe. The holiday is held on april 2, Hans Christian Anderson’s birthday.
IBBY is has 60 National Sections in its organization. Each year one section is given the opportunity to be the international sponsor of International Children’s Book Day, deciding on a theme and using a writer and illustrator from a host country to create a message for the celebration. The 2008 theme chosen by the Thai Section of IBBY is

Books Enlighten; Knowledge Delights

Poster designer and writer of the message is Chakrabhand Posayyakrit, a Thai illustrator and author, who said “I found inspiration for this painting from Thailand’s long recorded traditions, through the telling of stories to children to their learning by reading inscriptions on palm leaves placed on small folding tables exclusively designed for the purpose of reading.”

Many may have thought it was an April Fool’s joke, but the people of Užupis were (somewhat) serious when they declared themselves an independent republic on April 1, 2000. Užupis means “on the other side of a river” which refers to the Vilnia River that borders the district. There are many artists and writers in this area of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, so they may have been tapping into their creative juices when they wrote their constitution.

Some of the more quirkier terms of the document state:

Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, while the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
Everyone has the right to love and take care of a cat.
Everyone has the right to look after a dog till one or the other dies.
A dog has the right to be a dog.
A cat is not obliged to love its master, but it must help him in difficult times.
Everyone has the right to sometimes be unaware of his duties.