* 3/1 to 4/15 (OC 2/27 to 4/7): Lent--Christian time of purification by self-reflection, peace-making, reparation for harm done, and helping those in need. Lenten Truce (through Easter).* 3/28 to 4/5: Navaratri--Hindu festival honoring Great Goddess Maha Devi as Gauri - life, growth, and fruition. Tantric Hindus recognize gender equality and reject caste.* 4/1: Veneralia--Old Roman festival celebrating Venus (Goddess of Peace) vanquishing Mars (God of War) with love.* 4/1: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that the joys and suffering of others are your joys and suffering.
* 4/2 eve to 4/3 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis - as protector of wild animals, vegetation, and places.* 4/4: Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on Bodhisattva Deities Avalokitesvara and Green Tara, consciousness and empowerment of Compassion. Buddhists recognize the equality of all sentient beings.* 4/4 to 4/5: Ramanavami--Birthday of Hindu God Rama (avatar of Vishnu), protector of beloved wife, Goddess Sita (avatar of Lakshmi).* 4/7: Birthday of William Wordsworth (1770), poet and mystic who found connection with Deity while communing with Nature.* 4/8: Hana Matsuri--Shinto rite honoring the Kami of Flowers.* 4/9 (OC 4/9): Palm Sunday--Christian feast marking Savior Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem to teach love and justice for all humanity and to sacrifice Himself for the liberation and redemption of all.* 4/10 eve to 4/18 eve: Passover/Pesach--Jewish festival recalling their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and celebrating freedom from oppression. Passover Truce.
* 4/11 (2:08 a.m. EDT): Full Moon (White/Virgin Moon).* 4/13 (OC 4/13): Maundy Thursday/Last Supper of Savior Jesus--He washed the feet of His male and female disciples, gave them bread and wine as His body and blood, told them to love one another, and told of the Paraclete who would come after Him.* 4/14 (OC 4/14): Passion Friday--Fast day to mourn the torture and killing of Savior Jesus by civil and religious authorities, and to contemplate the sacrifice made for the liberation and redemption of all.* 4/14: Cetacean Day--Day to honor all creatures of the sea and to meditate on Deity manifesting as sea creatures.* 4/14 to 4/25 (I 4/20): Old Norse Summer Days Feast--Offerings were made to the Deities (particularly Odin, Thor, and Freyr) for success, peace, and plenty.* 4/15: Tax Day--Day to give back to the community for the benefits of community.* 4/15 (OC 4/15): Holy Saturday--Vigil remembering Savior Jesus in His cave tomb.
* 4/16 (OC 4/16): Easter/Pascha--Christian celebration of Lord Jesus’ resurrection by the power of the Holy Spirit.* 4/20: Beginning of Taurus (the Bull/Cow/Calf).* 4/20 eve to 4/23 eve (4/21 peak): Lyrid Meteor Showers.* 4/21: Birthday of John Muir (1838), naturalist and conservationist.* 4/22: Earth Day--Day to honor the Earth and to meditate on Deity manifesting as Mother Earth.* 4/24: Holocaust Remembrance Day--Day to mourn Jewish victims of genocide and anti-Semitism, make peace, and celebrate empowerment of Jewish Americans - and Jews everywhere.* 4/26 (8:16 a.m. EDT): New Moon.* 4/26: Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha’s teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. The Buddha taught an Eightfold Path to enlightenment - right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
* 4/26 to 4/29: Iroquois Corn-Planting Ceremony--in thanksgiving for the corn seed.* 4/26 to 5/3: Mayan Rain Festival--honoring Rain God Chac and His attendant Chacmool, and welcoming the fructifying rains.* 4/27: Death day of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1882), Transcendentalist Unitarian who believed in equality, self reliance, and the immanence of Deity in humans and in all Nature.* 4/28: Arbor Day--Day to honor trees, to plant trees, and to meditate on Deity manifesting as trees.* 4/28 eve to 5/3 eve: Floralia--Old Roman festival devoted to Flora, Goddess of Flowers.
* 4/29 eve to 4/30 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Aphrodite--Day to honor peace and compassion.* 4/30 eve to 5/2 eve: Beltaine--Old Celtic/Welsh feast of Blodeuwedd (Goddess of Flowers) and Llew (the Oak King - God of the waxing Sun).* 4/30 eve to 5/5 eve: Mid-Spring/May Day/Walpurgis--Celebrates sacred love and the flowering vegetation by gathering flowers and dancing around a Maypole.Excerpted fromTHE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2017A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality© 2016 Marija Miovskiwww.WheeloftheYear.comSave
