Your April Birthday: April Holidays, Traditions and More

April starts right off with a holiday, April Fool's Day, so stay on your toes lest you be taken in by a prank. Easter and Passover frequently, but not always, occur in April as well, and Earth Day occurs on the 22nd. Although it isn't the official start of Spring, it's often when the weather stops blustering long enough to feel springlike, although Robert Frost said "April is the cruelest month" for its extremely changeable weather. But even though "April showers bring May flowers", there are plenty of interesting things to know about the month of April besides the fact that it's rainy!

Monthly Observances
April is National Card and Letter Writing Month, so make sure to keep in touch with your loved ones via snail mail (this is the time to use up all those free notecards the charities having been sending you!) Wouldn't you love to get something in your mailbox besides bills and junk? So would your friends and relatives!

April is also the National Month for decorating; DNA, genomics, and stem-cell education and awareness; gardening; humor; kites; landscape architecture; occupational therapy (I've had jobs that made me want to see a shrink, too); Parkinson's awareness; pecans; poetry; sexually transmitted diseases and sexual assault awareness. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, Youth Sports Safety Month, and it is also National Knuckles Down Month, although I do not know what that is (sounds kind of painful).

April is also the International Month for Caesarean awareness, customer loyalty, and pet first aid. Also the International Twit Award is presented in April. I know all of you have some strong contenders in mind...

Weirdest Holiday: International "Louie Louie" Day, on the 11^th, because it's not just Americans who can appreciate a badly-enunciated song with a seven-word chorus you can sing whilst incredibly drunk.

April Traditions
Flower: sweet pea - blissful pleasure
Birthstone: diamond - innocence, success, faith Aries's gem: diamond

Zodiac sign: Aries (1-20) and Taurus (21-30; see April for details). Aries the Ram is known as the baby of the zodiac, being the first sign and representing the first several years of life. As a result of this, Aries fire-sign characteristics of excitability, adventurousness and experimentation are multiplied, as children share these same characteristics. Aries people are loads of fun to be with, but can be, as you may expect, immature and careless. Best friends: Leo and Sagittarius. Best love matches: Libra, Gemini and Aquarius.

Famous Birthdays: Debbie Reynolds (1st), Hans Christian Andersen (2^nd), Marlon Brando (3^rd), Robert Downey Jr. (4th), Gregory Peck (5^th), Harry Houdini (6^th), Billie Holiday (7^th), Patricia Arquette (8th), Hugh Hefner (9^th), Omar Sharif (10^th), Joss Stone (11th), Beverly Cleary (12th),  Thomas Jefferson (13^th), Pete Rose (14^th), Leonardo da Vinci (15^th), Martin Lawrence (16th), Victoria Beckham (17th), David Tennant (18th), Dudley Moore (19^th), George Takei (20th), Queen Elizabeth II (21^st), Jack Nicholson (22nd), Roy Orbison (23^rd), Kelly Clarkson (24th), Al Pacino (25^th), Carol Burnette (26^th), Coretta Scott King (27th), Jessica Alba (28th), Duke Ellington (29^th), Kirsten Dunst (30th).

Catholic Feast Days
1-Feast of St Hugh of Grenoble
2 - Feast of St Francis of Paola, Ste Mary of Egypt, St Urban of Langres
3- Feast of Ste Irene, St Richard of Chichester
4 - Feast of St Benedict the Black, St Isidore of Seville
5 - Feast of St Vincent Ferrer, St Derfel Gadarn
6 - Feast of St Notker Balbulbus
7 - Feast of St Herman Joseph, St John Baptist de la Salle
8 - Feast of St Walter of Pontoise
9- Feast of Ste Casilda, Ste Mary Cleophas, St Waldetrudis
10- Feast of St Macarius of Ghent, St Ezekiel, St Fulbert of Chartres, the Blessed Madelena of Canossa
11-Feast of Ste Gemma Galgani, Ste Godeberta, St Stanislaus
12-Feast of St Zeno
13-Feast of St Hermenegild, Ste Margaret of Castell, St Ursus
14-Feast of St Bénezet, the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Blessed Lydwina, St Peter Gonzales
15-Feast of the Venerable Father Damien, Ste Hunna
16-Feast of St Benedict Labre, Ste Bernadette, St Drago, St Magnus of Orkney
17-Feast of St James Duckett
18-Feast of Ste Aya
19-Feast of St Expeditus, St Alphege, Ste Emma
20-Feast of St Peter Martyr, St Uriel the Archangel
21-Feast of St Beuno, St Conrad of Parzham, St Anselm
22-Feast of St Epidosius, St Theodore of Sykeon, Ste Opportunata
23-Feast of St Adalbert of Prague, St George
24-Feast of St William Firmatus, Stes Bova & Doda, St Ivo
25-Feast of St Mark
26-Feast of The Mother of Good Counsel, St Joseph the Hymnographer
27- Feast of Ste Zita, St Maughold
28- Feast of St Peter Mary Chanel, St Aphrodisius, Ste Theodora, St Didymus
29- Feast of Ste Catherine of Siena, St Hugh of Cluny
30- Feast of St Adjutor, St Wolfhard, Ste Hildegard, St Pius V

Check out the funky stuff in these other months:

January - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/01/your-january-birthday-january-holidays.html
February - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/02/your-february-birthday-february.html 
March - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/03/your-march-birthday-march-holidays.html
April -  http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/03/your-april-birthday-april-holidays.html
May -  http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/05/your-may-birthday-may-holidays.html
June - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/05/your-june-birthday-holidays-traditions.html
July - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/07/your-july-birthday-july-holidays.html
August -  http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/07/your-august-birthday-august-holidays.html
September - https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2019/08/your-september-birthday-september.html
October - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/09/your-october-birthday-october-holidays.html
November - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/10/your-november-birthday-november.html
December - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/12/your-december-birthday-december.html

Image from Pixabay  https://pixabay.com/en/sweet-pea-wild-flower-sweet-pea-796916/
 

Your March Birthday: March Holidays, Traditions and More

In like a lion, out like a lamb: March's blustery winds subside into the gentle warmth of spring, and young men's thoughts turn to love and possibly to partying at Cabo on spring break.

Monthly Observances
March is National Craft Month, as well as the National Month for caffeine awareness, cheerleading safety, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome awareness, "Clean[ing] Up Your IRS Act", colorectal cancer awareness, ethics awareness, eye donors, frozen food, Multiple Sclerosis education and awareness, kidneys, nutrition, social work, umbrellas, and women's history. It is also National On-Hold Month, so celebrate by listening to some sappy music while doodling.

March is the International Month to Expect Success (remember to work while you're waiting), as well as the International Month for ideas, listening awareness (what?), and mirth (okay, got that covered).

Weirdest Holiday: What if Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs? Day, March 3^rd. Um, yeah, I have often wondered this myself. At least as often, I've wondered why we didn't have a special holiday for it. Now I'm wondering how you would celebrate such a holiday. Oh, and now I'm wondering if the holiday people have just lost their minds completely.

March Traditions
Flower: jonquil - domestic happiness, friendship
Birthstone: aquamarine, bloodstone - courage, wisdom
Pisces's gem: aquamarine

Zodiac sign:Pisces (1- 20) and Aries (21-31; see April for details). Of course, Pisces the fish is a water sign, with the characteristics of intuition and adaptability (think of water quickly taking the shape of its container). Pisceans are sensitive and devoted, but tend to be dreamers, so make sure your head isn't stuck in the clouds, little Fish! Best friends: Scorpio and Cancer. Best love matches: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.

Famous Birthdays: Kesha (1st), John Irving (2^nd), Mikhail Gorbachev (3^rd), Khaled Hosseini (4th), Eva Mendes (5th), Michelangelo (6^th), Ivan Lendl (7^th), Aidan Quinn (8th), Juliette Binoche (9th), Prince Edward (10^th), Lawrence Welk (11th), Liza Minelli (12^th), Adam Clayton (13th), Albert Einstein (14^th), Eva Longoria (15th), Flavor Flav (16th), Nat King Cole (17th), John Updike (18^th), Bruce Willis (19^th), Ovid (20^th), Gary Oldman (21st), Reese Witherspoon (22nd), Akira Kurosawa (23rd), Harry Houdini (24th), Flannery O'Connor (25^th), Diana Ross (26^th), Mariah Carey (27th), Ldy Gaga (28th), Cy Young (29^th), Eric Clapton (30^th), Christopher Walken (31st).

Catholic Feast Days

1-Feast of St David, St Swithbert, St Albinus
2 - Feast of St Chad, St Charles the Good, St Ferona
3- Feast of Ste Arthelais, Ste Cunegund, St Guignole, Ste Katharine Drexel
4 - Feast of St Casimir of Poland, St Humbert, St Leonard
5 - Feast of St Phocas of Antioch, St Piran, St Gerasimus, St John Joseph of the Cross
6 - Feast of St Fridolin, Ste Colette
7 - Feast of St Drausius, Ste Perpetua, Ste Felicity, St Paul the Simple
8 - Feast of St John of God, St Philomen
9- Feast of Ste Catherine of Bologna, St Dominic Savio, Ste Frances of Rome
10- Feast of St Kessog, Ste Anastasia, St John Ogilvie
11-Feast of St Eulogius of Córdoba, St Oengus
12-Feast of Ste Fina, St Maximilian
13-Feast of St Ansovinus
14-Feast of Ste Matilda, St Lubin
15-Feast of St Clement Mary Hofbauer, St Longinus, Ste Louise de Marillac, Ste Matrona
16-Feast of St Heribert, St Papa
17-Feast of Ste Gertrude of Nivelles, St Joseph of Arimathea, St Patrick
18-Feast of St Fra Angelico, St Edward the Martyr, St Frigidian
19-Feast of St Joseph
20-Feast of St Cuthbert, St Martin of Braga
21-Feast of St Nicholas von Flue
22-Feast of St Avitus, St Isnardo of Chiampa, Ste Lea of Rome, St Nicholas Owen, St Paul of Narbonne
23-Feast of the Blessed Sybillina Biscossi, St Toribio, St Gwinear
24-Feast of Ste Catherine of Sweden, St Gabriel the Archangel
25-Feast of The Annunciation, St Dismas, Ste Margaret Clitherow
26-Feast of St Ludger
27-Feast of Ste Alkelda, St Pellegrino
28-Feast of St Gontran, St Tutilo
29-Feast of St Armogastes, St Rupert, St Cyril the Deacon
30-Feast of St Quirinus, St Dodo
31-Feast of Ste Balbina, St Guy of Pomposa, St Amos, St Benjamin

Check out  these other months:
January - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/01/your-january-birthday-january-holidays.html
February: http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/02/your-february-birthday-february.html
April - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/03/your-april-birthday-april-holidays.html
May - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/05/your-may-birthday-may-holidays.html
June - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/05/your-june-birthday-holidays-traditions.html
July - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/07/your-july-birthday-july-holidays.html
August -  http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/07/your-august-birthday-august-holidays.html
September - https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2019/08/your-september-birthday-september.html
October - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/09/your-october-birthday-october-holidays.html
November - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/10/your-november-birthday-november.html
December - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/12/your-december-birthday-december.html

Image from Pixabay  https://pixabay.com/en/flowers-vase-daffodils-narcissus-93014/