National and International Important Days In April
April means welcoming summers and farewell to spring weather in India. It is time for brighter sun and a warm climate. Every month there are some important days marked as national and International days to observe/remember a specific cause, recognized by a Nation or United Nations. Some of the important days in the month of April are April fools day, Easter, and Earth Day. Here is the list of important national and international days and events observed in the month of April.
1 April – April Fools’ Day
April Fools’ Day, also known as All Fools’ Day, is a day of the year when people in most parts of the world play practical jokes and tricks on each other. Nobody knows the exact origin of the day which has been caught up in myth and legend. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. People playing April Fool jokes expose their pranks by shouting April Fool.
1 April – Odisha Day
Utkal Divas or Odisha Day is celebrated on 1st April for commemorating the formation of our state in 1936 which was previously divided into provinces of Bengal and Bihar. After the demise of the last Odia king Mukund Dev in 1568, this state had been ruled by Mughals, Nawabs, Marathas, and British. There was no presence of Odisha’s state name on the political map then. Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das founded an Odia social and cultural organization named Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to unite all Odia. After a three-decade-long revolution, Odisha entered in state list with 6 districts only namely Cuttack, Puri, Baleswar, Sambalpur, Koraput, and Ganjam with its capital at Cuttack. However, at present, we have 30 districts. Utkala Divasa the day of remembrance for all Odia helps everybody to be united.
2 April – World Autism Awareness Day
World Autism Day is celebrated every year on 2 April to raise awareness about people with autistic spectrum disorders throughout the world. Autism is a lifelong disability that affects how people communicate and interact with the world. The day is observed where it is important to recognize and continue efforts to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change in relation to adults and children considered to have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
4 April – International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
The United Nations General Assembly declared April 4th the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of mine action and remind the population of the danger that landmines pose all over the world. It is also an opportunity to highlight all the exceptional work that mine action personnel and advocacy groups do around the world, and to point out that dealing with explosive hazards is only one aspect of mine action work.
5 April – National Maritime Day
April 5 marks the National Maritime Day of India. On this day in 1919, navigation history was created when SS Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd traveled from Mumbai to the United Kingdom. The National Maritime Day was first celebrated on 5th April 1964. This main purpose to celebrate the day to illustrate the awareness in supporting intercontinental commerce and the global economy as the most well-organized, safe, and sound, environmentally responsive approach of transporting goods from one corner to another corner of the world.
7 April – World Health Day (anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948)
World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the auspices of the World Health Organization, as well as other related organizations. The 7 April mark the founding of the World Health Organisation. WHO has diligently worked for over 50 years to shed light on themes such as mental health, climate change, maternal and child care. Each year, the Organisation selects a key global health issue and organizes international, regional, and local events on the Day and throughout the year to highlight the selected area.
10 April – World Homeopathy Day
10th of April every year is observed as World Homeopathy Day. People across the globe commemorate the birthday of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the German physician, who is the founding father of Homoeopathy. The doctors on this day come together and discuss the various facts and measures by this system of Homeopathy. Through the celebration of the day, more knowledge about this form of medicine is made to spread at the different corners of the world through the different mediums.
10 April – Sibling Day
Sibling Day originated in the US but is now celebrated in many countries around the world, including India, Australia, and Japan. Most children spend more time with their siblings over the course of their lives than they spend with anyone else, including their parents. Although there is much focus on the importance of relationships between children and mothers and fathers, sibling relationships are different from parent-child relationships. The idea was initially conceived by Claudia Evart to honor her brother and sister who both died at early ages. April 10 was chosen as it was the birthday of her late sister, Lisette. It takes its inspiration from Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
11 April – National Pet Day
April 11 is National Pet Day, a nice time to think about adopting a pet or volunteering at a local animal shelter. National Pet Day is a great opportunity to think about what can be done to make your fur friend’s life even better. National Pet Day can even be celebrated by those who don’t own pets. The relationship between the man and the animal is very old. Their relation can be traced back to the beginning of civilization. If you are a pet lover, you know the true meaning your pet holds in your life.
12 April – International Day of Human Space Flight
The 12th of April is the International Day of Human Space Flight, marking the anniversary of the historic first human space flight. The annual day was created in 2011 and marks the date of the first human space flight by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. This event took place on April 12, 1961, and it opened the way for space exploration for benefit of all humanity. The day celebrates the beginning of the space era for mankind.
13 April – Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Day
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Day also known as Amritsar Massacre was a massacre that happened in Amritsar, in 1919. The British Indian Army soldiers started shooting at an unarmed crowd of men, women, and children. The person in charge was Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, the military commander of Amritsar.
The event took place when the whole of Punjab was celebrating Baisakhi. Baisakhi is the festival that heralds the beginning of Khalsa Panth in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhs. After the news life came to a complete standstill – not only in Punjab but across the country.
18 April – World Heritage Day
World Heritage Day is celebrated on April 18 since 1983, the day is dedicated to recognizing sites of historical importance, raising awareness, and stressing the need to restore and preserve them. The day, thus, promotes cultural importance, while also highlighting the many impediments in doing so.
‘Heritage’ refers, literally, to something inherited from the past. In the context of World Heritage Day, heritage refers mostly to cultural heritage, the legacy of physical and intangible artifacts and attributes built up through the ages by the people of the world. And monuments and historical sights are the tangible representation of man’s cultural heritage.
21 April – World Creativity and Innovation Day
World Creativity and Innovation Day is organized by the United Nations and aims to encourage creative, multidisciplinary thinking to help achieve economic growth and a sustainable future. In 46 different countries, the day is celebrated to promote unity through creativity, it was celebrated first time on 21st April 2002. The purpose of the Day is to remind and encourage people to use their creativity to make the world a better place and to make their place in the world better too. This day is celebrated in different ways all over the world, it also raises awareness about creativity and celebrates the unlimited and endless potential of creativity.
21 April – National Civil Services Day
National Civil Services Day is celebrated by the Government of India (GoI) on 21 April each year as an occasion for the civil servants to dedicate themselves again for the service of citizens and revitalize their dedication to public service and excellence in work. The day mark when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minter of Independent India, addressed the Administrative Services Officers probationers in 1947 at Metcalf House in Delhi. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’. Their involvement is important in drafting every scheme and policy for Central and state governments.
22 April – Earth Day
Earth Day, was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, in 1970 to raise awareness about environmental issues. Earth Day was later recognized internationally in 1990. Today, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 by more than 1 billion people in 192 countries. Some people celebrate Earth Day on April 22, some celebrate Earth Day on the Vernal Equinox (the day Spring starts in the Northern Hemisphere). Each Earth Day, individuals and organizations from across the globe participate in activities intended to world towards a healthier environment for future generations.
23 April – World Book and Copyright Day
UNESCO created the World Book and Copyright Day in 1995 with the first celebration coming on 23rd April 1996 to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors. Why this particular date? On this date in 1616 three great writers – Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega – all died. The resolution on the proclamation of the World Book and Copyright Day underlines that history books have been the most powerful factor in the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of preserving it. The Resolution also calls for the organization of events such as book fairs and exhibitions on this day.
23 April – World English Language Day
English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The day aims to create awareness to people about the culture, history, and achievements associated with the language. The first English Language Day took place in 2010 marked as a day of diversity and multiculturalism.
24 April – National Panchayati Raj Day
National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24th April every year because the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 came into force on 24 April 1993. The enactment of the 73rd Amendment Act helped in the decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. The act also led to the institutionalization of Panchayati Raj through the village, Intermediate, and District level Panchayats. The day is observed in the country since 24 April 2010 and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates various awards to the Panchayats on the occasion of National Panchayat Day.
25 April – World Malaria Day
World Malaria Day is observed on April 25 all across the globe with an aim to raise mass awareness about the disease and also to ensure the required treatment or preventive measures. The Day was established in May 2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, WHO’s decision-making body. The day was established to provide “education and understanding of malaria” and spread information on “year-long intensified implementation of national malaria-control strategies, including community-based activities for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas.”
25 April – Italy Liberation Day
The 25 April in Italy is the Liberation Day. All over the country, we celebrate the anniversary of the liberation from the Nazi occupation and from the Fascist regime. This is a crucial day in the history of our country and it has great political and military relevance. The date of 25 April 1945 will be forever remembered because it represents the end of the war that lasted five years and of twenty years of tyranny.
28 April – International Worker’s Memorial Day
Workers’ Memorial Day is held on 28 April every year, its the day when the International Labour Movement remembers those who have been killed or injured in workplace accidents and those who have died from occupational diseases. The event started in North America in 1986 and has been supported by Usdaw since 1995. The Day is now a global event and is officially recognized by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and by the International Trade Union Movement (ITUC).
28 April – World Day for Safety and Health at work
28th April is observed as World Day for Safety and Health at work an occasion when the world comes together to focus on emerging trends in the field of occupational Health and Safety and to draw attention to work-related injuries, diseases, and fatalities worldwide.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work has been a global event since 2003, but the origins of the 28th April stretch back to 1996 when the trade union movement used the date to honor the memory of victims of occupational accidents and diseases. Since then, the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers has been established as a campaign to help reduce injuries and fatalities in the workplace, as well as honoring fallen workers around the world.
29 April – World Dance Day
International Dance Day or World Dance Day is observed on 29th April to celebrate dance, promoting the international exchange of knowledge and practice in dance, stimulate the creation, breakdown barriers and increase public awareness and engagement in dance.
International Dance Day was first introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council (Conseil International de la Danse, CID) part of UNESCO. The day itself marks the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre, often credited as the creator of modern ballet, although all forms of dance are a cause for celebration on this day.
30 April – Ayushman Bharat Diwas
Ayushman Bharat Diwas is celebrated across the country on April 30th. It was observed first time on 30th April 2018, it aims to promote health and wellness among rural people. Ayushman Bharat Scheme is the Indian Government’s flagship scheme related to the National Health Policy, with a vision to achieve “Universal Health Coverage”. This scheme was officially launched on 23 September 2018. Prior to the formal launch of this scheme, the “Ayushmaan Bharat Diwas” was nationally celebrated on 30 April 2018 as a part of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
Wednesday of last full week in April – National Secretaries day
Secretary’s Day or Office Professionals Day is celebrated on 21st April in the USA and UK, but in Australia, it is on the first Friday in May. The celebrations usually last a whole week. In 1955, the observance date of National Secretaries Week was moved to the last full week of April.
The day recognizes the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists, and other administrative support professionals. This day is the perfect time for giving recognition to these most important people on your staff – especially if you are working remotely because of COVID-19.
Last week April – World Immunization Week.
World Immunization Week (April 24-30) brings together a diverse coalition of partners to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. It is also an opportunity to highlight how vaccines and the people who develop, deliver, and receive them are champions working to protect the health of everyone, everywhere.
