16 April 2023 Day

Passover, also known as Pesach, is one of the most significant Jewish holidays. It commemorates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in ancient Egypt and the story of the Exodus. This festival commences on the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar and lasts for seven days in Israel and for eight days in the diaspora.

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In some historic counties in the United Kingdom, county days celebrating their cultural heritage traditionally coincide with the feast days of their respective patron saints. For example, Orkney Day is celebrated on the same day as the feast day of Saint Magnus.

Easter in Eastern Christianity

Easter is one of the most important feasts of the year for all Christians since it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, which is a foundation of the Christian faith. Western and Eastern Christians celebrate Easter on different dates, depending on the calendar they use.

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The majority of Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar or the Revised Julian calendar for calculating movable feasts. They include Oriental Orthodox churches such as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Therefore, Easter in Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea coincides with Easter in many Eastern European countries.

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Police Day is annually observed in Armenia on April 16. This is a relatively new celebration, that was established in 2002.

The lawyers of Bulgaria annually celebrate their professional day on April 16. Lawyers' Day is observed on the anniversary of adoption of the Tarnovo Constitution.

Birthday of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is celebrated on April 16. It is not a public holiday in Denmark, but the Queen typically makes an appearance, and some events are held to celebrate the monarch.

The Anfal genocide is one of the most tragic pages in Kurdish history. In Iraqi Kurdistan, there are several remembrance days dedicated to the victims of the genocide. One of them is Remembrance of Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Wasan. It is observed on April 16 every year.

Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (A holokauszt áldozatainak emléknapja) is observed on April 16 every year. On this day in 1944, the Jews of Subcarpathia were rounded up and forced into ghettos and then extermination camps.

National Healthcare Decisions Day is an annual observance held on April 16. It was created to inspire, educate and empower healthcare providers and the general public about the importance of advance care planning.

Eggs Benedict is a great dish to start your day. Celebrate National Eggs Benedict Day on April 16 with a delicious breakfast or brunch!

April 16 is World Voice Day. This annual event is devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice, that is as unique as every person themselves.

Emancipation Day, also known as Juneteenth, is a U. S. federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. However, some states and even cities also observe their own Emancipation Day on other dates. For example, Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia is observed on April 16.

This Day in History

• 2014 The MV Sewol ferry with more than 450 aboard capsized near Jindo Island off South Korea. 295 passengers died, 9 more missing.
• 2007 Died: Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer, one of the greatest Brazilian female athletes. She became the first Brazilian and South-American woman to participate in the Summer Olympic Games. During her life Lenk has set world records, five of them she held on the time of her death.
• 2001 A five-day border conflict was began between India and Bangladesh. The disputes about their border was not resolved.
• 1992 Died: Andy Russell, American singer, specializing in traditional pop and Latin music. Russel was famous in the 1940s and 1950s singing in his romantic, baritone voice. Among his chart-busters are Bésame Mucho, Amor, What a Diff'rence a Day Made, Laughing on the Outside, Without You and The Anniversary Waltz.
• 1992 60,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the ocean when the Katina P, a Greek oil tanker, ran aground off of Maputo, Mozambique.
• 1991 Died: David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter, best remembered for epics The Bridge on the River Kawai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and Brief Encounter.
• 1972 Died: Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese author. His sparse, lyrical and subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize for Literature. He became the first Japanese author to receive this award.
• 1965 Born: Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, a leading actor during the 1990s. He is best known for films Bad Boys, Life, Big Momma's House, Bad Boys II.
• 1961 Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared in his nationally broadcast speech, that he was a Marxist-Leninist and Cuba was going to adopt Communism.
• 1952 Born: Michel Blanc, French actor and director, best known for roles of losers and hypochondriacs. As a director he is known for films Grosse Fatigue and Summer Things.
• 1945 A German refugee ship Goya was sunk by a Soviet submarine L-3. More than 6,000 died (only 183 survived), the accident is known as one of the major maritime losses of life in history.
• 1928 Died: Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henry Birks and Sons, designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, timepieces, silverware and gifts, its stores and manufacturing facilities are located in Canada and the USA.
• 1927 Born: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger or Pope Benedict XVI. His papacy lasted from 2005 till resignation in 2013.
• 1926 Born: Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist, founder of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, a French multinational pharmaceutical and cosmetics company present in over 130 countries.
• 1925 150 were killed and 500 wounded during the St. Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Communist Party blew up the roof of the church during the funeral service.
• 1922 Born: John Christopher, English author, recipient of the Guardian Prize and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize). He is best known for his books The Death of Grass and novel series The Tripods.
• 1922 Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Rapallo, that re-established diplomatic relations between the countries.
• 1912 Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
• 1904 Died: Samuel Smiles, Scottish author, best known for a book Self-Help. This book elevated Smiles to celebrity status almost overnight.
• 1889 Born: Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He rose to fame in the silent film era and became worldwide icon through his screen persona the Tramp. Chaplin is considered as one of the most important figures in the history of film industry.
• 1867 Born: Wilbur Wright, American pilot, engineer, and businessman, co-founder of the Wright Company.
• 1853 The first passenger rail road was opened in India. It connected Bori Bunder, Bombai and Thane.
• 1850 Died: Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founder of the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London.
• 1844 Born: Anatole France, French journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament.
• 1828 Died: Francisco Goya, Spanish painter, often regarded as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns.
• 1818 Rush-Bagot Treaty was ratified by the United States Senate and the border between Canada and the USA was established.
• 1788 Died: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French mathematician, cosmologist, and author, whose works influenced the next two generations of naturalists. His major work was 36 quarto volumes of Histoire Naturelle.
• 1783 Died: Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer and educator, most noted for pioneering the study of binary stars, although his equipment was ill-suitable for this.
• 1755 Born: Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter, the most important female painter of the 18th century. Her works may be found in Hermitage Museum, London's National Gallery in museum in Europe and the United States.
• 1682 Born: John Hadley, English mathematician, known for invention of the octant, a measuring instrument used in navigation.