National Tartan Day
Culture/religion: National observance
Date: April 6
National Tartan Day was first recognized in the United States in 1997, but it was only a single-year U.S. Senate Resolution. In 1998, the day was given permanent recognition when the U.S. Senate passed a resolution marking April 6 as National Tartan Day. In 2005, the House of Representatives passed a companion resolution.
April 6 was chosen as the date to recognize National Tartan Day because it commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, asserting Scotland’s sovereignty over English territorial claims. The Declaration of Arbroath influenced the writing of the American Declaration of Independence.
Sources:
About National Tartan Day: April 6, American Scottish Foundation
Yom HaShoah
Culture/religion: Judaism
Date: April 8
Yom Hashoah, known by the full name of Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah (“Day of (Remembrance of) Holocaust and the Heroism”), is a day of commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust. The day is observed on the 27th day in the month of Nisan – a week after the seventh day of Passover.
The date of Yom Hashoah was determined by the Israeli Parliament on April 12, 1951, and was enacted in a formal law on August 19, 1953, but is observed by Jewish communities worldwide.
Since the early 1960s, a siren is sounded throughout the State of Israel at sundown as the holiday begins and again at 11:00 a.m. the following morning, stopping traffic and pedestrians for two minutes of silent devotion. There are no public entertainment venues open on this day, but television and radio provide programs connected to the events through interviews with survivors and music appropriate to the memory of the time.
Observance of the day varies by region, from no change in the daily religious services in Orthodox synagogues, to synagogue services, communal vigils and educational programs in other regions.
Alternate spelling: Yom Ha-Shoah
Pronunciation: YOHM hah shoh-AH
Sources:
Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Memorial Day, My Jewish Learning
Glossary of Jewish Terminology, Judaism 101, jewfaq.org