Calendar: Lots of Upcoming Events

To steal a line from one of the upcoming holidays: why is this month different from all other months?

We're moving into a period when a lot of stuff is going to be happening: major holidays of two of the major religions of the Middle East, a possible general strike in Egypt, and the Algerian Presidential election.

Here's the countdown:

• Egypt's 6 April Movement is trying to hold a general strike and "day of anger" on Monday, April 6; see my recent post.
• Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 8, and continues for the following week.
• The Algerian Presidential elections take place Thursday, April 9. (Put your money on Bouteflika to win, place, and show.)
• Western Easter is Sunday, April 12, celebrated by Middle Eastern Roman Catholic, most Eastern Catholic, and Protestant Christians.
  
• Eastern Easter is Sunday, April 19, celebrated by Middle Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox (Copts, Armenians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Syriac Orthodox) and the Assyrian Church of the East.
• (Late addition some days later): Sham al-Nissim, a traditional Egyptian spring festival and day off, always occurs on the Monday after Coptic Easter, this year April 20, but it is also celebrated by Muslims as a spring break. The name means "smelling the breeze."
  

And of course, we Americans are supposed to pay our taxes on April 15. My daughter's ninth birthday is also within this time frame but I won't embarrass her by giving details of it here. And here in DC it's the Cherry Blossom Festival.