Holidays Calendar for April 21, 2024
Tiradentes Day is a national holiday in Brazil celebrated on April 21. It marks the death anniversary of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, who was a leading member of the Brazilian independence movement Inconfidência Mineira.
Mahavir Jayanti, also known as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, is one of the most important festivals in the ancient Indian religion of Jainism. It celebrates the birthday of Jina Mahavira, a revered spiritual leader and the 24th tirthankara (a person who’ve achieved enlightenment). According to the Gregorian calendar, the festival occurs in March or April.
Garia Puja is an annual festival celebrated in the Indian state of Tripura. It is a seven-day celebration that culminates on the 7th day of the Hindu month of Vaisakha, which typically corresponds to April 20 or 21 in the Gregorian calendar.
World Curlew Day is observed by various environmental organizations around the globe on April 21. It was created to celebrate amazing birds that don’t get as much attention as they deserve, raise awareness of the dangers that curlews face, and promote their conservation.
International Hemp Day is celebrated annually on April 21. It was created to raise awareness of the many benefits of hemp, dispel common misconceptions about industrial hemp, and encourage people to buy hemp products.
State Security Service Day is a professional holiday celebrated in the Republic of Kazakhstan on April 21. It was officially established in 2014 by a presidential decree.
Civil Service Day is an Indian professional holiday celebrated annually on April 21. Its main goal is to emphasize the importance of the work that civil servants perform so that their country could prosper.
Tajik Science Day is one of the official holidays celebrated in Tajikistan. It is observed annually on the third Sunday of April to highlight the achievements of Tajik scientists and emphasize the importance of science, technology and innovation for the country’s development.
Traditional tree planting events are organized in many countries around the world, but the dates mostly do not coincide. For instance, National Tree Planting Day is celebrated in Kenya every year on April 21.
Vietnam Book Day is an annual nationwide observance held on April 21. It was established in 2014 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. This holiday focuses on raising public awareness about the importance of books and encouraging reading in the community.
Although tea originated from China, a lot of people associate it primarily with the United Kingdom, since it was the British who helped popularize tea in Europe. As a result, tea drinking became a big part of British culture. It even has its own holiday, National Tea Day, celebrated on April 21.
Kartini Day, also referred to as Women Emancipation Day, is an Indonesian holiday that commemorates Raden Ajeng Kartini. She was the first Indonesian feminist and is considered a national heroine of Indonesia.
On April 21, Mexicans celebrate Heroic Defense of Veracruz (Heroica Defensa de Veracruz). It is a civic holiday, which means that it is observed nationwide, but is not a paid non-working day.
On April 21, North Koreans celebrate the birthday of Kang Pan-sok, the mother of the North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, grandmother of his successor Kim Jong-il, and great-grandmother of the current supreme leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un.
Rome Foundation Day is a semi-official holiday celebrated in the Italian capital on April 21 or the closest weekend. The celebration includes a costumed procession and a symbolic opening of the city gates.
San Jacinto Day is celebrated in the U.S. state of Texas on April 21 every year. It was proclaimed to commemorate the final battle of the Texas Revolution, which resulted in the de facto independence of Texas from Mexico.
Sati Sadhani Day (Sati Sadhani Divas) is an annual holiday celebrated on April 21 in the Indian state of Assam. It was established to honor the last ruler of the Chutia Kingdom, a late medieval state located in the territory of present-day Assam.
Calamba City Day (Araw ng Calamba) is a special non-working holiday in the Philippine city of Calamba, celebrated annually on April 21. It commemorates the signing of the Calamba Charter in 2001.
Orani Foundation Day (Araw ng Pagkakatatag ng Orani or Araw ng Orani) is a special non-working holiday celebrated in the Philippine municipality of Orani on April 21 every year. It commemorates the town’s founding anniversary.
Chocolate goes well with everything, especially nuts. If you're looking for a special treat, they pick up a handful of chocolate covered cashews. By the way, April 21 is National Chocolate Covered Cashew Day.
Chickpeas are a staple food in some regions and a key ingredient in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines. If you love chickpeas and chickpea dishes, don’t forget to celebrate National Chickpea Day on April 21.
World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) is a United Nations observance held annually on April 21. It was officially established by the General Assembly in 2017 to emphasize the importance of creativity and innovation for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
Day of Local Self-Government in Russia is celebrated on April 21. It was established by President Vladimir Putin on June 2012 and first held in 2013.
National Kindergarten Day is celebrated annually on April 21. It commemorates the birthday of Friedrich Fröbel, a German educator who created the concept of the kindergarten and coined the term.
Festivals on April 21, 2024
- Weifang International Kite Festival in Weifang, China
- Moors and Christians of Alcoy in Alcoy, Spain
- Great Plains Renaissance & Scottish Festival in Wichita, USA
- Venice Art Biennale in Venice, Italy
- Stuttgart Spring Festival in Stuttgart, Germany
- Scallop Festival in Brittany in Paimpol, France
- Columbus International Film & Animation Festival in Columbus, USA
- East European Comic Con in Bucharest, Romania
- Dubai Food Festival in Dubai, UAE
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, USA
- New England Folk Festival in Marlborough, USA
- Kaunas Jazz in Kaunas, Lithuania
- Texas SandFest in Port Aransas, USA
- Moscow International Film Festival in Moscow, Russia
- Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing, China
This Day in History
- 2021 KRI Nanggala (402), an attack submarine of the Indonesian Navy, went missing during a routine exercise in the Bali Sea. Its debris were discovered three days later; all 53 people on board were dead.
- 2019 Three churches, three luxury hotels, a housing complex, and a guest house in Sri Lanka were targeted in a series of coordinated ISIS-related terrorist suicide bombings on Easter Sunday. 269 people died.
- 2018 Died: Verne Troyer, American actor, stunt performer, and comedian best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series and Griphook in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
- 2016 Died: Prince (stage name of Prince Roger Nelson), American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. Prince was renowned as an innovator.
- 2012 A head-on collision of two trains occurred near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. 117 people were injured, one of whom died in a hospital.
- 2010 Ukraine and Russia signed the Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, also known as the Kharkiv Pact.
- 2003 Died: Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon), American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, and activist primarily associated with jazz music.
- 1999 Died: Buddy Rogers, American actor and jazz musician, the third husband and widower of silent film legend Mary Pickford who was 12 years his senior.
- 1993 Former Bolivian dictator Luis García Meza Tejada was sentenced to 30 years in jail for fraud, theft, murder, and human rights violations.
- 1989 Died: James Kirkwood, Jr., American playwright, author, and actor best known for his 1975 musical A Chorus Line that earned him several awards.
- 1988 Died: Jean-François Lyotard, French philosopher, sociologist, and literary theorist who is best known for his articulation of postmodernism.
- 1983 Born: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, English actress known for her roles in Belle, Black Mirror, Beauty and the Beast, A Wrinkle in Time, Loki, and other films and television series.
- 1979 Born: James McAvoy, Scottish stage, film, and television actor who is notable for starring in The Last King of Scotland, the X-Men films, Split, Glass, and It Chapter Two.
- 1971 Died: François Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, Haitian politician and statesman who served as the 40th President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971.
- 1970 Born: Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and voice artist who is best known for participating in the series MADtv and The King of Queens.
- 1969 Born: Toby Stevens, British actor known for his roles in Die Another Day, Mangal Pandey: The Rising, Black Sails, Lost in Space, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
- 1967 A coup d'état took place in Greece. A group of right-wing army officers quickly seized power and established a military junta that was later named The Regime of the Colonels.
- 1965 Died: Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist who was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the F region of the ionosphere.
- 1963 The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Faith was elected for the first time. It is the supreme governing institution of this religion.
- 1963 Born: John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, writer, singer, and director best known for creating the cult musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
- 1962 The Century 21 Exposition, also known as Seattle World's Fair, opened in Seattle, Washington. It was the first World Fair in the US since the Second World War.
- 1960 Brasília was officially inaugurated to serve as the new national capital of Brazil. The city was founded specifically for this purpose. It was built in 41 months.
- 1958 Born: Andie MacDowell, American actress and model who is known for her roles in the films Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Michael, and more.
- 1956 Born: Peter Kosminsky, British writer, director and producer. He is known for directing Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, White Oleander, Wolf Hall, The State, and Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.
- 1951 Born: Tony Danza, American actor who is best known for his co-starring roles in the television series Taxi and Who's the Boss? He also has a number of film credits to his name.
- 1949 Born: Patti LuPone, renowned American actress and singer, best known for her work in stage musicals. As of 2024, she has won three Tony Awards and two Grammy Awards.
- 1947 Born: Iggy Pop, American rock musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor whose music has encompassed a number of styles over the years.
- 1946 Died: John Maynard Keynes, British economist whose ideas have considerably influenced on the development of modern macroeconomics.
- 1925 The Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals was first published in the Italian newspaper Il Mondo. It established the foundations of Italian Fascism.
- 1918 Died: Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, German fighter pilot who is considered the top ace of the First World War.
- 1910 Died: Mark Twain (pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens), American author and humorist best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
- 1864 Born: Max Weber, German philosopher, sociologist, and political economist who is considered to be one of the three creators of sociology.
- 1837 Born: Fredrik Bajer, Danish writer, pacifist politician, and teacher who was awarded the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Klas Pontus Arnoldson.
- 1836 The decisive battle of the Texas Revolution, the Battle of San Jacinto, took place. The Texian Army led by General Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans.
- 1816 Born: Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters. Her best known work is the 1847 novel Jane Eyre.
- 1555 Born: Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter, printmaker, and etcher. His best known works include Lamentation of Christ and Saint Sebastian.
- 1509 Henry VIII ascended the throne of England following the death of his father, Henry VII of England. He was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
- 1142 Died: Peter Abelard, French scholastic philosopher, theologian, logician, and composer. He contributed to the development of conceptualism.