April
April 1 April Fool's Day. Several countries. From old European tradition of the feast of fools, where people would play at trading roles.
April 2 Birthday of Hans Christian Anderson. International Children's Book Day.
April 2 Siz deh be dar. Iran. Bad luck day. People have outings and parties to ward off bad luck.
April 5 Ch'ing Ming. Clear & Bright Festival. China. 106 days after winter solstice.
April 5 Korean Arbor Day.
April 6 Scottish Independence Day.
April 8 Hana Matsuri. Birthday of Buddha.
April 9 Rama Navami. India. Day of incarnation of Lord Rama on earth.
mid-April Baisakhi Solar New Year. Spring New Year for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. Important religious holiday. Children receive special gifts.
Bon Chol Chhnam. Kampuchea (Cambodia) New Year. Beginning of rainy season and new farming season.
Songkran. Thailand. Buddhist solar new year. Three day long religious holiday. Customary for people to throw water at each other.
Passover. Jews worldwide. Seven day holiday to remember Moses' liberation of Jews from Egyptian slavery.
Easter. Christians worldwide. Holy day to celebrate Christ's resurrection. There are many different Easter traditions worldwide. See www.kidlink.org.
April 19 Patriots Day. United States.
Third week April Sumardagurinn fyrsti. Icelandic Summer. Iceland. First day of summer. No school.
April 21-May 2 Rizvan. Bahais worldwide. Twelve day festival. Holiest time of year. A Time to think about faith and celebrate Great Teacher.
April 21 Earth Day. Various countries.
April 22 Arbor Day. Various countries.
April 23 Saint Jordi Day. Spain. Boys give girls flowers. Girls give boys books. St. Georges Day is also celebrated in the United Kingdom. St. George was the patron saint of England. He was believed to have killed a dragon that was stalking villages. It is customary in the U.K. to fly the St. Georges Cross Flag, and to wear red roses, and eat traditional English foods.
April 23 Turkish Independence Day.
April 25 Anzac Day. Australia and New Zealand to commemorate landing at Gallipoli of the two countries' fighters -- the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during WWI.
April 25 Liberation Day. Italy. Celebrates liberation at end of WWII.
Late April Yom Ha'shoa. Jews worldwide. Holocaust Remembrance Day.
April 27 South Africa Independence Day. Freedom Day.
April 27 Vhasaki. India. Culture Day. Marks the liberation of the 10th Guru.
April 30 Walpurgis Night. Sweden. Eve of May Day/Beltane. Thought to be a night when many diabolical creatures hold revels.Festivals are held to welcome spring. It is an ancient customto build bon fires and sing.Beltane is a Celtic festival celebrating the arrival of Spring.
Beltane means "Fires of Bel" or "brilliant fire" from
the God Belenus. The festival begins on Walpurgis Night with the
building of two bonfires from nine different woods. People and their pets
walk between the two fires to ward off illness and bad luck. In olden times,
the flames of the bonfire were also used to rekindle lights in the households
throughout the village. Ancient Beltane festivals included dancing around
the maypole, romance, and singing. Modern pagan festivals include maypole
dances and cauldron jumping, which is supposed to encourage fertility --
both in having babies, and fertility of the imagination and spirit.
Late April Golden week. Japan. Four holidays. April 29th is Green day, from Emperor Showa's love of nature. This is followed by Constitution Day, Children's Day, and Holiday for a Nation.
Late April Yom Ha'atzmaut. Israel. Independence Day since 1948. Very happy holiday for Israelis. Floating date in April immediately after Yom Ha Zicaron, day of remembrance for soldiers in Israel.
May Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Since 1992.
May 1 May Day/Beltane. There are many variations in how this holiday -- over 3000 years old -- is observed worldwide. Since the 1800's, May day is also celebrated as an International Labor Day.
May 2 Mothers Day. Italy. Mothers Day is observed in many countries around the world throughout the month of May, with many varying customs. In Italy, it is a tradition to give flowers to mothers, do her chores, etc. For example, May 10 in Guatemala, May 20 in Thailand. In the United States. Observed on the second Sunday in May. Shortly after the Civil War in the 1860's, Julia Ward Howe launched a Mother's Day for Peace. The President declared this a National Holiday in the United States in 1914.
May 3 Santa Cruz Day. Philippines. First day of Spring.
May 3 Japanese Constitution Day.
May 5 Boys Day. Japan. People express their hopes for strength and health of their sons. Warrior figures are set up around the house. Iris leaves are placed under house eaves to fend off evil. National Holiday. [Girls Day in March is not a National Holiday]
May 5 Childrens Day. Korea. Many special programs for children. Families go to zoos and parks together.
Early May Dan-oh Day. Korea. Many traditional customs to ward off bad luck. For an excellent discussion, visit http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/
May 5 Cinco de Mayo. Mexico. Minor holiday celebrating the self determination of a small group of peasants in Puebla, Mexico. Less important in Mexico than September 16th Independence Holiday.
May 8 Parents Day. Korea. Children give gifts to their parents.
May 9 Armed Forces Day. Yom Hamitzahon. Celebrates day when Natzis were defeated by Russian Army. Celebrated in Israel and several other countries.
Second Sunday in May Vesak. Buddhists worldwide. Celebrates events in life of Buddha.
May Eid-al-Adha. Egpyt. Feast in honor of Abraham's sacrifice.
May 15 Teachers Day. Columbia. Students perform plays, do special things for teachers.
May 17 National Day. Norway.
May 19 Turkish National Holiday. Dedicated to youth and the importance of sports.
May Journey of Healing Day. Australia. Acknowledges wrongs done to indegenous Aborigine people by the Austalian colonialists.
May-June. Dragon Boat Festival. China. See http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/. Near the fifth day of the fifth moon on the Chinese Calendar. Ancient Chinese Festival, once an outdoor boat race where dragon shaped boats raced, symbolizing a dragon fight in the heavens, to bring heavy rains. Takes place after spring planting, when people have time to relax and need rain. Vietnamese call this the Fifth of Five Moon Festival.
May 23 Canadian Citizenship Day.
Monday before May 24 Victoria Day. Canada. From 19th Century tradition of celebrating monarch's birthday.
Last Monday in May Memorial Day. United States. In 1868 at the end of the Civil War, flowers were put on the graves of both confederate and union soldiers as a way to try to heal the nation. It was later decided to include all soliders. mid to late May.
Shavout. Jews worldwide celebrate the 50th day after the beginning of Passover. Jews celebrate the receipt of the Torah on Mount Sinai. It is customary to try to stay awake all night and study the Torah. Dairy products are eaten. Synagogues are decorated with plants. Also a harvest celebration.
June
June 6 Korean Memorial Day.
June 8 Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Commonwealth countries.
June 10 Day of Portugal. Portugese observe death of Luis Vazde Cames -- famous Portugese poet.
mid-June Mid-June Festival. Sweden. Falls on Friday and Saturday between June 20-26. Big feasts. Ancient pagan holiday to pray to Gods for rich harvests.
June 13 Kamehameha Day. Hawaii.
June 14 Flag Day. United States. June 20 is Flag Day in Argentina. June 7 is Flag Day in Peru.
3rd Sunday in June. Father's Day. United States and various countries.
June 16 South African day of remembrance. Established by Nelson Mandela to recall riots and killing of
students by police in 1976.
June 19 Jose Gervasio Artigas. Uruguay. Celebration of liberator's birthday.
June 19 Juneteenth. African American holiday in Texas, United States. Celebrates liberation of slaves in
State of Texas two and a half years after Emancipation Proclamation.
June 21 Summer Solstice. Longest day of year. Various countries.
June Ratha Yatra. Hindu holiday. Chariot festival representing travels of Lord Vishnu. Decorated carts are taken on symbolic journeys.
June 24 Inti Raymi. Peru. Main celebration of the Incas.
June 24 San Juan Day. Puerto Rico. Commemorates birth of John the Baptist. Customary for people to walk to beach, walk in water, then out bakcward seven times, throw themselves to the sand for luck, and then swim. A family holiday.