National Anniversary of Hung Kings (Vietnam)
The purpose of this ceremony is to remember and pay tribute to the contribution of the Hung Kings who are the traditional founders of the nation and became its first emperors. Beginning as a local holiday, the Ceremony was recognized as a national holiday in 2007. The ceremony takes place over several days, but 10th day of the month is considered the most important. A procession starts at the foot of the mountain, and stops at every small temple before reaching the High Temple. Here pilgrims offer prayers and incense to their ancestors.
HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens 2016 (Singapore)
The two-day tournament features 16 of the world’s top Rugby Sevens powerhouse teams from the flamboyant Fijians to the exciting Aussies, the irrepressible New Zealanders to the South African Blitzboks. Since its inception in 1999, The World Rugby Sevens Series has captivated fans in over 150 territories. It is already one of the world’s fastest growing sports – a thrill ride of non-stop action and with no time outs, breath-taking feats of agility and athleticism are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Now, with Rugby Sevens making its Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the stakes have never been higher. Singapore is proud to host the 8th tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, joining Vancouver, Sydney, Cape Town and Paris as the new host cities on the 10-leg series.
Election Day (South Korea)
The 20th legislative elections will be held in South Korea on 13 April, 2016 to elect members of the National Assembly. This will be the first legislative election in South Korea after a controversial Constitutional Court ruling that altered the population ratio of constituencies with the highest number of population to the lowest number of population from 3:1 to 2:1, while they also decided that the number of constituents in a certain constituency must not be more or less than 1/3 of the average number of constituents.
Songkran Festival (Thailand)
Songkran is a widely observed holiday in Thailand. Many residents would travel back to their hometowns to celebrate it with their families, but the city remains busy thanks to the tourists who come for the festival. Songkran comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Sankranti’, and it marks the change of the solar year to another. It’s celebrations lasts for three days, mainly: ‘Mahasongkran’ which is the last day of the old year, ‘Wan Nao’ as the day after, and ‘Wan Thaloeng Sok’ as the day when the new year starts. It is also known as the Thailand Water Festival because throwing water on each other is part of the Songkran celebrations, symbolizing the washing away of bad luck. People can also make merit, by vising temples and offering food or alms to the monks. Songkran is also about paying respects to ones elders and ancestors.
Day of Valor (Philippines)
Araw ng kagitingan (“Day of Valor”) is a national public holiday in the Philippines, celebrated on the 9th of April. The day is also known as “Bataan Day”. Araw ng kagitingan commemorates the fall of the Bataan peninsula during World War II after months of fighting between the Philippine and American armies against the invading Japanese. The united Philippine-US army, depleted of food, medicine and ammunition, was forced to surrender to the Japanese on 9th of April, 1942. The now prisoners of war consisted of 68,000 Filipinos and 11,796 Americans. The Japanese, unprepared for the large number of prisoners, decided to move them by foot from Bataan to another base located 140 kilometers (90 miles) away in San Fernando.
Hong Kong Sevens (Hong Kong) - Apr 8-10
The Hong Kong Sevens is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series rugby sevens competition. The Hong Kong Sevens is the sixth tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series (following the USA Sevens), and is held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March. The tournament spans three days, beginning on a Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU).
World Health Day
World Health Day is an annual event on April 7 to draw attention to particular priorities in global health. Various local, national and international events are arranged to educate the public and policy makers about a specific aspect of the World Health Organization's work. This event receives plenty of media coverage. Examples of events include conferences for health workers, briefings for local politicians, and informational displays for children and young people. Public marches and demonstrations, as well as free or easy access to medical tests, can also take place on the day.
Chakri Day (Thailand)
Each year on this day, Thais pay their respects to the monarchy through various religious ceremonies in the royal chapel. Chakri Memorial Day celebrates the leadership of King Rama I, who assumed the throne on this day in 1792. It was also the date when the new capital, Krung Thep (Bangkok) was founded. King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current king of the Chakri Dynasty, and is also known as King Rama IX.
Ching Ming Festival
The Ching Ming or Qing Ming Festival falls during the third lunar month. Ching Ming literally translates as ‘clean and bright’, and this is the day that Chinese people sweep the graves of their ancestors. But the tidy up doesn’t end there: the festival is an important ancestor worship ritual that also requires families to weed graves, touch up headstone inscriptions, make offerings of food and light incense. Besides China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, many other Asian countries that have a large Chinese communities also observe this traditional holiday, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
World Autism Awareness Day
The eighth annual World Autism Awareness Day is April 2, 2016. Every year, autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness-raising events.
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the Monday after Easter Sunday, in which Christians remember Jesus Christ's resurrection.
Easter
Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is Christianity’s most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.
Holy Saturday (Philippines)
Holy Saturday commemorates the day that Jesus Christ lay in the tomb after his death, according to the Christian bible. It is the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter Sunday. It is also known as Easter Eve, Easter Even, Black Saturday, or the Saturday before Easter.
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed on the Friday before Easter Sunday. In Singapore, Good Friday is one of two Christian public holidays in the year, with the other being Christmas Day.
Maundy Thursday (Philippines)
Maundy Thursday, which is the day before Good Friday, is a popular Christian holiday in countries such as the Philippines. It is a regular non-working holiday in the Philippines. Maundy Thursday marks the event before Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. Aside from fasting, most Filipinos refrain from activities such as drinking alcohol, eating meat and intercourse with their partners. Maundy Thursday is highlighted by the re-enactment of the Last Supper, which is organized by churches. It is customary for Filipinos to visit seven churches on this particular day. This is called Visita Iglesia which is a Spanish word for “to visit churches”. Some people visit 14 churches to symbolize the 14 stations of the cross.
World Water Day
For World Water Day, UN-Water identifies upcoming challenges and sets the theme for the years to come. World Water Day 2016 will be around ‘Water and Jobs’, in 2017 around ‘Wastewater’ and in 2018 around ‘Nature-based Solutions for Water’.
Boao Forum for Asia
As a non-government, non-profit international organization, Boao Forum For Asia (BFA) is the most prestigious and premier forum for leaders in government, business and academia in Asia and other continents to share visions on the most pressing issues in this dynamic region and the world at large. The Forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals. Initiated in 1998 by Fidel V. Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia, and Morihiro Hosokawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, Boao Forum for Asia was formally inaugurated in February 2001. Countries across the region have responded with strong support and great enthusiasm, and the world has listened attentively to the voice coming from a tiny, quiet and scenic island at the southernmost part of China – Boao, the permanent site of the Annual Conference of the Forum since 2002.
Spring Equinox - Observed (Japan)
There are two equinoxes every year – in March and September – when the Sun shines directly on the equator and the length of night and day are nearly equal.
Harmony Day (Australia)
Harmony Day is a national observance that celebrates Australia’s cultural, linguistic and religious diversity on March 21 every year.