Modern Date : April 1st

The Kalends of April
The Festival of Venus

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    The Kalends of April are sacred to Venus, as is the entire month, and this day has been called the Veneralia. Public games, ludi, would be held in honor of the deity.
    This day was also known as All Fools Day to the Romans, and they would spend the entire day celebrating with comic hilarity, doing things backwards, wearing women's clothes, dancing in the streets, and generally carrying on in the most in the most foolish and congenial manner. This is one of the few Roman holidays that has preserved some of its original character, under the modern name April Fools Day.
    Maximian became emperor this day in 286 AD.
    In Egypt, this day was celebrated as the Birthday of the god Hathor.


Modern Date : April 2nd

ante diem IV Nonas April
Fourth Day to the Nones of April

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. On her birth the seas bubbled and turned rosy, and she arose, full grown and standing on a seashell, in all the surpassing glory of her loveliness and arrayed in the panoply of her irresistible charms. She floated to Cyprus, arriving in April, and as soon as her white feet touched the shore, grass and flowers sprang up at her feet and she was sweetly received by the Three Graces. On this day in 304 BCE, Alexander IV, the successor of Alexander the Great, began his reign in Babylon.


Modern Date : April 3rd

ante diem III Nonas April
Third Day to the Nones of April

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
    After Venus arrived at Cyprus, according to Greek legend, the Three Graces bedecked her with golden ornaments and escorted her to to the divine halls of Olympus. With her went Love and Desire (Himeros), the whispering of maidens and Smiles and Deceits with Sweet Delight and Graciousness.
    On this day in 628 AD, the emperor Heraclius recovered all the Byzantine territories that had been lost to Persia. He also recaptured the so-called True Cross. The True Cross had been found buried in Palestine during a time when trade in religious relics brought huge profits. Although when it was first found it looked as if it had been made yesterday, it inexplicably began to rot and crumble as if it were just regular wood. It was divied up and sold in chunks. Pieces of this rotten relic are today sealed in small nitrogen lockets to prevent further decay, and are routinely used to impress children.


Modern Date : April 4th

pridie Nonas April
The Megalesia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This was the first day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.
    The emperor Caracalla was born at Lyons this day in 188 AD.
    On this day in 527 AD, the emperor Justin in Constantinople named his nephew Justinian as the new emperor.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.


Modern Date : April 5th

Nonas April
The Festival of Fortuna

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place. The rex sacrorum would appear on the steps of the Capitol on this day and announce to the people what days of the months would be holidays.

    This day was set aside to honor the Goddess Fortuna, the personification of Good Fortune, also known as Felicitas. Cicero tells us that Felicitas had a temple at Rome.
    This was the second day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.

Modern Date : April 6th Market Day

ante diem VIII Idus April
The Megalesia

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This was the third day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.
    This was the day, the sixth day of the Greek month Munychion, that Theseus sailed from Athens with a ship of hostages for Minos and a fleet of ships he had constructed in secret. The year was, nominally, 1400 BCE and the supreme dominance the Cretans had enjoyed over the Mediterranean was about to be reversed. Annual hostages were given to guarantee Athenian behavior after a previous revolt. Taking advantage of the Cretan navy's absence from Cnossos, the Athenians suddenly sailed into the port and stormed the city. Theseus led them through the maze-like palace where they killed Minos the king, who was known as the "Bull of Minos." Meanwhile the Athenian hostages killed the guards and freed themselves. Afterwards a treaty was signed and sealed by the marriage of Theseus and Ariadne. Athens commemorated this event by annual sending a procession of virgins to the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
    On this day in 46 BCE, Caesar defeated the troops of Pompey's son Sextus at Thapsus in North Africa.
    Jesus of Nazareth was arrested by Roman authorities this day in 30 AD. As the so-called "King of the Jews," he was a revolutionary threat to Rome, whose Senate had given this title to Herod's family alone. Later Christians, bitterly at odds with the Jews who flatly rejected the suggestion that Jesus was the Messiah, would blame the Jews for his death, supposedly as the result of the charge of blasphemy. But the Jews had no death penalty, and the Romans had no conception of blasphemy as a crime. Besides, the Romans used crucifixion strictly as a means of intimidating revolutionaries, and for no other reason.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.


Modern Date : April 7th Market Day

ante diem VII Idus April
The Megalesia
    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    On this day and the next our Northern European ancestors celebrated a holiday from antiquity, Easter. This festival honored the Goddess of Spring, called Ostara by the Saxons. This celebration hailed the coming of Spring to the northern countries, which the Romans in the warmer southern climate celebrated on March 1st.
    This was the fourth day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks. At her altar no sacrifice was acceptable except pure fire.


Modern Date : April 8th Market Day

ante diem VI Idus April
The Megalesia

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    On this day and the previous our Northern European ancestors celebrated a holiday from antiquity, Easter. This festival honored the Goddess of Spring, called Ostara by the Saxons. This celebration hailed the coming of Spring to the northern countries, which the Romans in the warmer southern celebrated on March 1st.
    This was the fifth day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.
    The emperor Caracalla was assassinated this day in 217 AD near Carrhae in Mesopotamia. He was 29. Macrinus became the new emperor.
    On this day in 563 BCE Gautama the Buddha was born. Barely one hundred years later, the great Greek philosophers were discussing ideas that bore similarities to some of the teachings of Buddha. In South America, Guatemala was named after the Buddha before the Europeans came, although no-one knows how.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- whom the Romans knew as Venus.


Modern Date : April 9th Market Day

ante diem V Idus April
The Megalesia

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite, whom the Romans called Venus. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks.
    Septimius Severus was declared emperor by the legions this day in 193 AD.
    This was the sixth day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.


Modern Date : April 10th Market Day

ante diem IV Idus April
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This day was the first day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    This was the seventh and final day of the Megalesia, or the Great Games, which were celebrated for seven days in honor of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess or Mater Magna. Cybele was also called Ops and her priests were called Galli. She was the mother of Ceres by Saturn, the father of Jove.


Modern Date : April 11th Market Day

ante diem III Idus April
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    The emperor Septimius Severus was born at Lapcis Magna this day in 145 AD.
    Macrinus became emperor this day in 217 AD. He was the first emperor of Moorish descent.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- known unmistakably to the Romans as Venus. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks.
    This day was the second day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.


Modern Date : April 12th Market Day

pridie Idus April
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This was the third day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome this day. This was the first day of the games.
    On this day in 1204, the soldiers and mercenaries of the Second Crusade sacked Constantinople, who had been their allies, on their way to Jerusalem. The Pope gave them permission to rape unmarried women and pillage the city if they gave control of Byzantium to Roman Catholics. They burned the libraries and large parts of the city, murdered over 15,000 civilians and plundered the religious relics of the Orthodox Church. It took over a century for the Greeks to regain control of Constantinople, but their wealth and influence had been destroyed permanently.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- known unmistakably to the Romans as Venus.


Modern Date : April 13th Market Day

Idus April
The Ides of April

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.
    This day is sacred to Jupiter.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome this day. This was the second day of the games.
    This was the fourth day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    Didius Julianus became emperor this day in 193 AD.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- known to the Romans as Venus. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. At her altar no sacrifice was acceptable except pure fire.

Modern Date : April 14th Market Day

ante diem XVIII Kalendas May
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome this day. This was the third day of the games.
    This was the fifth day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- known unmistakably to the Romans as Venus. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks.
    In Egypt, this day was the Festival of Ba'ath.


Modern Date : April 15th Market Day

The Fordicidia

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

    This day is the Fordicidia, the festival in which thirty-one pregnant cows (fordae) were sacrificed in separate temples in honor of Tellus, the earth-goddess for whom this day was sacred.
    This was the sixth day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    This is the 1st day of the of the 5th month in the Druidic calendar. Sequent letter S (or Z or SS), symbolic of the tree Willow or Blackthorn.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome this day. This was the fourth day of the games.

Modern Date : April 16th Market Day

ante diem XVI Kalendas May
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This was the seventh day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome. This was the fifth day of the games.
    On this day in 69 AD the emperor Otho committed suicide at Brixellum, near Cremona, in 32 AD, after being defeated in battle by Vitellius.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks.


Modern Date : April 17th Market Day

ante diem XV Kalendas May
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This was the eighth day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome. This was the sixth day of the games.
    This was said to be the day, in 1468 BC, when Pharaoh Tuthmoses III of the 18th Dynasty fought the battle of Armageddon ("The Megiddo Battle") to fight an alliance of over three hundred princes. With an estimated force of perhaps 30,000 men, this would have been the largest army ever assembled. The Egyptians probably had half that number. This was the greatest battle that had ever been fought up till that time and the event so impressed the Hebrews that it became a metaphor in the Book of Revelation for the Apocalypse, or the final battle. It was certainly the end of the world for a great many of pharaoh's enemies, who, though they outnumbered the Egyptians, lacked their determination and skill. The princes of Israel were surely among the defeated lords, although this embarrassing fact was conveniently omitted in the Bible. After breaking through the pass, the Egyptians routed the alliance and drove them behind their fortress walls. They then laid seige for nearly seven months until the fortress surrendered. This victory took Egypt from a nation to an empire.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans.


Modern Date : April 18th Market Day

ante diem XIV Kalendas May
The Festival of Ceres

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This was the ninth day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). This Festival culminated in the Cerealia, on the 19th. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome. This was the seventh day of the games.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
    In Greece, this day was celebrated as the Thargelia.


Modern Date : April 19th Market Day

The Cerialia

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

    This was the tenth and culminating day of the ten day Festival held in honor of Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture (cereal grains, corn, bread). Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jove (Jupiter) and Pluto, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a felicitous and excellent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression "fit for Ceres," which meant splendid.
    The Circensian Games were celebrated at Rome. This was the final day of the games.
    Ceres represented the earth-mother in connection with the growth of crops, and with cereal grains in particular. Part of the celebration of this day included the ceremonial buring of the fox, in which a fox with burning grain stalks attached to its tail was let loose in the Circus Maximus. The ashes of the fox were collected and used for expiatory rites, presumably to protect the crops from robigo, or wheat rust.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans.


Modern Date : April 20th Market Day

ante diem XII Kalendas May
Twelfth Day to the Kalends of May

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- known to the Romans as Venus. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks. At her altar no sacrifice was acceptable except pure fire.

Modern Date : April 21st Market Day

The Parilia

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

    This is the traditional day on which Rome was founded by Romulus. On this day Romulus defined the walls of the city by plowing a line encircling and area of flat ground between the seven hills. This was the same path that young eligible bachelors would run, around the Palatine hill, on the Lupercalia.
    This day is sacred to the god Pales, after whom the Palatine hill is named. Pales is identified as a personification of Mars. On this festival day, feasts were held, and fires were made from olive wood, pine, savine, laurel and sulphur. Cattle were made to walk through the smoke as a means of lustrating, or purifying them. The sacral meal of this day included cakes of millets and buckets of fresh milk. After the feast, milk would be mixed with heated wine (sapa), and the people would leap through the flames of night-time bonfires. According to Ovid these fires would be made of bean-straw and arranged in a row, and the people would run and jump over each one.
    On this day in 43 BCE, Octavian was victorius over Mark Antony at the battle of Modena.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- known to the Romans unmistakably as Venus.



Modern Date : April 22nd Market Day

ante diem X Kalendas May
Tenth Day to the Kalends of May

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks.
    In Greece on this day they celebrated the Festival of Elaphebolia.


Modern Date : April 23rd Market Day

The Vinalia

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    The Vinalia, named after vinum (wine) was celebrated with both wine and fire. The official chief priest would pick the first grapes of the season and sacrifice a lamb to Jupiter. Some wine would be poured on the ground as propitiation, both by the priests and by the people in their wine-drinking revelry. Wine-drinking games were commonly played at this time, and wineskins from the previous year would be first opened on this day.
    Venus was honored this day as the protectress of the hetairae, or dancing girls. The hetairie were professionals who generally worked for companies, but sometimes worked as self-employed troupes. Besides providing music and dancing during dinners and feasts, they had other talents and could earn extra income after dinner.
    This day is sacred to Jupiter.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews. At her altar no sacrifice was acceptable except pure fire.


Modern Date : April 24th Market Day

ante diem VII Kalendas May
The Vinalia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the second day of the Vinalia, and the wine-drinking celebrations would continue.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks. After Venus arrived at Cyprus, according to Greek legend, the Three Graces bedecked her with golden ornaments and escorted her to to the divine halls of Olympus. With her went Love and Desire (Himeros), the whispering of maidens and Smiles and Deceits with Sweet Delight and Graciousness.


Modern Date : April 25th Market Day

The Robigalia
    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

    The Robigalia is a festival dedicated to Robigus, the numen of wheat rust which could be appeased to avert this calamity. A dog was sacrificed on this day to accomplish this appeasement. Robigus could be alternately a male or female deity. Footraces were held on this day to honor the deity - separate races for both men and for boys.
    This is also the third day of the Vinalia, and the wine-drinking celebrations would continue.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her.


Modern Date : April 26th Market Day

ante diem VI Kalendas May
The Vinalia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the fourth day of the Vinalia, and the wine-drinking celebrations would continue.
    On this day in 127 AD, the stoic Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome. His book Meditations is a timeless example of wisdom bearing fruit in a decadent age. Marcus Aurelius said, "If you have lived in one age, you have lived in all ages."
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her.


Modern Date : April 27th Market Day

ante diem V Kalendas May
The Vinalia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the fifth day of the Vinalia, and the wine-drinking celebrations would continue.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks.
    According to legend, the competition for the love of Venus was so great Zeus had to intercede and gave her to Hephaestus. She then proved to be as faithless as she was beautiful, having an affair with Ares (Mars) and having children by Hermes, Dionysius, Poseidon, and the mortal Anchises of Troy.


Modern Date : April 28th Market Day

ante diem IV Kalendas May
The Vinalia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the sixth day of the Vinalia, and the wine-drinking celebrations would continue.
    The emperor Otho was born this day at Ferentium, in southern Etruria, in 32 AD.
    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and Ashtoreth to the Hebrews and King Solomon, who built a temple to her. On her birth the seas bubbled and turned rosy, and she arose, full grown and standing on a seashell, in all the surpassing glory of her loveliness and arrayed in the panoply of her irresistible charms. She floated to Cyprus, arriving in April, and as soon as her white feet touched the shore, grass and flowers sprang up at her feet and she was sweetly received by the Three Graces.


Modern Date : April 29th Market Day

ante diem III Kalendas May
The Floralia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    April is named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite -- Venus to the Romans. She was also called Cloacina to the Romans and Urania to the Greeks. At her altar no sacrifice was acceptable except pure fire.
    This is the first day of the five day festival called Florifertum centered around the Kalends of May (May Day), and offerings of milk and honey would be made to the flower goddess. The city would be decorated in flowers and people would wear them in their hair. The first games of the Floralia, or Florifertum, would be celebrated on this day.


Modern Date : April 30th Market Day

pridie Kalendas May
The Floralia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This day belongs to the five day festival called the Floralia, or Florifertum, centered around the Kalends of May (May Day), and offerings of milk and honey would be made to the flower goddess. The city would be decorated in flowers and people would wear them in their hair. The games of the Florifertum would be celebrated on this day.
    Jesus of Nazereth was crucified at 9AM on this day in 30 AD by the Roman authorities in Judea. Though the Romans only crucified revolutionaries as an example to others, the Christians would later blame the Jews for Jesus' death. In the 1st century the Jews and Christians became bitter enemies when the Jews rejected the suggestion that Jesus had been the Messiah and charged the Christians with stealing the body of Jesus to lend plausibility to their resurrection story. The charge of blasphemy was a vindictive Christian invention -- the Romans had no concept of blasphemy as a crime, and certainly not blasphemy against Jehovah, an exclusively Jewish deity. Besides, the Jews had no death penalty -- it being against the Commandments, and so the Christian prevarication was clearly groundless.


Mois de Mai