Ann Hoebel, age 13, of Jamestown, N.Y., for her question: jo~
WHO NAMED THE MONTH OF APRIL?
Fourth month of the year, April, is named for Aprilis, a Latin word meaning "to open." In the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, the appearance of the outdoor world usually changes more in April than in any other month of the year.
In the early Roman calendar, April was the second month of the year. Julius Caesar switched it to number four when he established the Julian calendar in 46 B.C.
In the United States and Canada and other Northern Hemisphere countries, April usually marks an end of ice and snow. Grass grows green and leaves appear on all of the trees that had been bare all winter long.
The animals that had been hibernating during the cold months usually wake up in April and come out to face the world. And lots of birds fly northward to settle down and raise families.
April is also the time when many farmers in the Northern Hemisphere plant seeds.
On the sporting front, umpires yell "Play balll" and another baseball season is under way. Amateurs in many other sports are lured out of doors with the spring's warm days.
Easter almost always falls in April and brings with it other Christian religious celebrations such as Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Good Friday.
The Jewish religious festival of Passover often comes early in April. April is the time for Chinese to celebrate the Pure and Bright
Festival. And it is the time for people in Canada and England to celebrate St. George's Day to honor the patron saint of England.
The experts who establish symbols have decided that the special flowers for the month of April are the sweet pea and the daisy. And the rare and beautiful diamond is April's own birthstone. April is the month in which George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States. This important event took place in 1789.
During April in 1800, the Library of Congress was established in Washington, D.C. And earlier, on April 18, 1775, Paul Revere made his famous ride. A day later, on April 19, 1775, the Revolutionary
War started in Lexington. The San Francisco Conference which established the United Nations started on April 25, 1945. On April 4, 1818, The Congress of the United States adopted the flag with 13 stripes and many stars.
Almost 100 years later, on April 6, 1917, Congress declared war on Germany. On April 9, 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern
Virginia to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil War had started on April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter.
Four United States presidents were born in April: Thomas Jefferson on the 13th in 1743, James Buchanan on the 23rd in 1791, Ulysses S.
Grant on the 27th in 1822 and James Monroe on the 28th in 1758.