What a busy month, humorous and serious. It started on April 1st which was April Fool's Day and Easter Monday.
Ramadan dates 2024 and 2025
Ramadan ended April 9th 2024. However, Ramadan is not in April in 2025. In 2025 it will be from Feb until March for 30 days. Travellers may wish to travel before the date of the start to reach Muslim countries and areas to enjoy evening meals with the family or street markets, or to avoid Muslim countries on these dates if you wish to visit Muslim restaurants. In some Muslim countries and areas you will find other restaurants open to foreigners, eg Chinese restaurants open to Westerners in Malaysia - look for the red lanterns and lights on.
Varied Celebrations & Commemorations
April has brought us Shakespeare and St George's Day in England, Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, and Earth Day worldwide.
Earth Day
Monday April 22nd was Earth Day.
Harrovians Toastmasters International speakers' training and leadership club in Harrow was celebrating its 21st anniversary. Inflatable globes decorated with maps depicting the world were on stage.
Costco Cake Catering
We had a birthday cake which was ordered from Costco on Saturday and delivered on Monday. The icing was delicious. The cost was about seventeen pounds for a large cake.
The club had invited the Mayor of Harrow to speak, and his wife the mayoress. The mayor was dressed in red. He entertainingly told us that a little girl aged about six had mistakenly though he was Santa Claus and asked him for a present. She assured him that she had been very good.
Left: The mayor of Harrow, Ramji Chauhan.
Centre: Toastmasters International, UK South, Club Growth Director, Mo Dawodu.
Right: Angela Lansbury, member of Harrovians Toastmasters Club since 2004.
If you wish to read about the early days of Harrovians, I wrote an account of it which you can buy from lulu.com
Shakespeare & St George
Tuesday 23rd April, all day and every year on the 3rd, is St George's Day. It is also Shakespeare's birthday. A chance to celebrate with quotations from Shakespeare.
The red cross on white is familiar to football supporters who know the England team's insignia.
ANZAC
Thursday 24th is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand. Marches start at dawn in Australia.
The Anzac Field of Remembrance is wooden crosses for those who lost their lives, planted by the War Widows' Guild, in St Andrews Church, Sydney, Australia. Other events include playing of the sound of the Last Post. Events take place worldwide, Malaysia, Tasmania, Canada, UK.
Gallipoli, Turkey. Wikipedia.
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PASSOVER MEALS
Monday 22nd and 23rd this year (following a Jewish calendar with changing days) are Passover or Seder night for the UK Jewish community. In Israel, religious events take place on one day, but in the diaspora they last two days to be sure to align with the time the event is celebrated in Jerusalem.
Jesus's Last Supper was a Passover meal, commemorating the angel of death passing over the houses of Hebrew slaves when a plague swept over Egypt.
The Discovery Channel programme investigating suggested that wet weather turned mouldy the stored wheat or grain. The wheat was eaten by the richer Egyptians. They gave double portions to the older firstborn son, hence the deaths of their firstborn.
This food poisoning was known in the USA in a previous century as the cause of St Vitus's dance. The spring cleaning by finishing up last year's old flour before stocking up with the new season's harvest accounts for the unleavened matzah eaten by Jews and the lent fast including pancake day to use up old flour.
April 20th was Chinese Language Day.
The last day of the month April 30th, this year 2024, is the last day of Passover, April 30th is also National Child Day which encourages reading to children, national Mahjong Day which encourages you to play or learn to play mahjong, and adopt a shelter pet day and therapy animal day, and International Jazz Day. If you want to end with a sweet treat, it is also national oatmeal cookie day and bubble tea day. As Shakespeare said, or rather, wrote, All's Well That Ends Well.
Useful websites
Easter
Anzac Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day
Shakespeare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shakespearean_phrases
St George's Day
https://nationaltoday.com/april-30-holidays/
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