April 2024
April isCelebrate Diversity Month,a celebration that was initiatedin 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity surrounding us all. By celebrating differences and similarities during this month, organizers hope that people willgaina deeper understanding of each other.
April isAutism Acceptance Month, established to raise awareness about and acceptance of the developmental disability that impacts an individual’s experience of the world around them
April isNational Arab American Heritage Month. It celebrates the Arab American heritage and culture and pays tribute to the contributions of Arab Americans and Arabic-speaking Americans.
April isDeaf History Month. This observance celebrates key events in deaf history, including the founding of Gallaudet University and the American School for the Deaf
April 1:Easter Monday, is the day after Easter Sunday, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day, created to raise awareness around the globe
April 5: Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night of the year for Muslims, is traditionally celebrated on thetwenty-seventhday of Ramadan. It is known as the Night of Power and commemorates the night that the Quran was first revealed to the prophet Muhammad
April 9:Chaitra Navaratri, a nine-day festival that starts on the first day of the Hindu Luni-Solar calendar
April 9–10 (sundown to sundown): Eid al-Fitr, the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal, marking the end of Ramadan. Many Muslims attend communal prayers, listen to a khutba (sermon), and give Zakat al-Fitr(charity in the form of food) during Eid al-Fitr
April 12: The Day of Silence, during which students take a daylong vow of silence to protest the actual silencing of lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender, and queer(LGBTQ+) students and their straight allies due to bias and harassment
April 13: Vaisakhi (also known as Baisakhi), the celebration of the founding of the Sikh community as theKhalsa(community of the initiated) and the birth of theKhalsa
April 17:Ram Navami, a Hindu day of worship and celebration of the seventh avatar of Vishnu (Lord Rama). Devotees typically wear red and place extravagant flowers on the shrine of the god
April 21: Mahavir Jayanti, a holiday celebrated by the Jains commemorating the birth of Lord Mahavira. It is one of the most important religious festivals for Jains
April 21: The Festival ofRidvan, a holiday celebrated by those of theBahá’ífaith, commemorating thetwelvedays when Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder, resided in a garden calledRidvan(paradise) and publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger for this age
April 22: Earth Day promotes world peace and sustainability of the planet. Events are held globallyinsupport of environmental protection of the Earth
April 22–April 30: Passover, an eight-day Jewish holiday in commemoration of the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt
April 23: St. George’s Day, the feast day of St. George celebrated by various Christian churches
April 27: Lazarus Saturday, a day celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy to commemorate the raisingfrom the deadof Lazarus of Bethany
April 28-29: Ninth Day ofRidvan, a festival of joy and unity in theBahá’ífaith to commemorate the reunification of Bahá’u’lláh’s family and by extension the unity of the entire human family theBahá’ífaith calls for. It permeates the symbolic meaning of the Ninth Day ofRidvan.
