Autumn holiday (beginning)
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Thursday March 30, 2023
School holidays :
Good Friday
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Friday April 7, 2023
Catholic or protestant : The First Council of Nicaea (a gathering of bishops in the early days of Christianity) wanted to find a day to commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. This commemoration had to be linked to Jewish holiday traditions, since the last supper of Christ was believed to be a Jewish Passover meal. But the Jewish calendar is based on lunar and solar cycles, so the Easter celebration had to follow the same calendar.
Holy Saturday
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Saturday April 8, 2023
Catholic : Paid holiday
Easter
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Sunday April 9, 2023
Catholic or protestant : Paid holiday
Easter Monday
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Monday April 10, 2023
Catholic or protestant : In the year 325, the Council of Nicée determined a date fo Easter. Full Moon would fall the 14th day of a moon month (1). Easter would be marked by the dominical letter(2)and the epactus(3). With the establishment of the equinox ne variatur on March 21, algorithms where elaborated to attribuate a date for Easter whatever the year.
Time between two consecutive new moons: 20 days 12 hours 44 minutes 2.8 - Gives a letter code for the year's calendar Age of the moon on January 1st, minus one unity, 0 being the new moon's age.
Independence Day
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Tuesday April 18, 2023
Secular holiday : On this day in 1980, Southern-Rhodesia gained independence from the British, changing the name into Zimbabwe (based on a Shona term for Great Zimbabwe , an ancient ruined city in the country's south-east the remains of which are now a protected site).
· The day marked the end of racial segregation.
· In the ninety year span that Zimbabwe was a colony, it was administered by the British South African Company (BSAC) under the name Rhodesia and the Responsible Government under the name Southern Rhodesia. Both administrative systems were under the British monarchy.
· In 1965, Zimbabwe became autonomous and was led by a white segregationist government after Ian Smith made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain. This was after the British government had made majority rule a condition for the independence of Rhodesia from Britain.
· Smith followed the UDI by declaring Rhodesia a Republic, which however, did not have international recognition.
· From June 1979, the Republic of Southern Rhodesia was replaced by Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. Lacking international recognition, after about three months, the country was taken back into the hands of Britain, as per the Lancaster House Agreement which was meant to facilitate transition.
· The country once again became a British colony known as Southern Rhodesia.
· In the April 1980 elections, Robert Mugabe, head of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) won the majority and became the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.
End of Ramadan (may be changed to the nearest day)
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Saturday April 22, 2023
cards/flowers : The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Quran; a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, a number of other days. Allah desires for you ease; He desires not hardship for you; and that you should complete the period, and that you should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that perhaps you may be thankful [Wikipedia]
Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA)
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Wednesday April 26, 2023
Culture : lasts 7 days 2023 edition confirmed
Labor Day/May Day
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Monday May 1, 2023
Secular holiday : Chicago, Saturday May 1st, 1886: 350,000 workers go on strike to call for an 8-hour working day. Industries are paralyzed nationwide. On Monday, as demonstrations go on, the police open fire. On Tuesday, Chicago is again on strike. Following a bomb launched against them, the police shoot again. 12 dead, of which 7 policemen. 8 anarchists will be condemned and executed. In 1889, the Socialist International Movement met in Paris and declared this day international workers' day . The Soviets will follow suit, just as the Nazis. In France, under the Vichy regime (1940-1944), the celebration is renamed Labour Day .
Autumn holiday (end)
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Monday May 8, 2023
School holidays :
Mothers' Day
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Sunday May 14, 2023
cards/flowers : Mothers day has evolved in many countries in different ways. This is because mothers day has different origins in different countries and therefore occurs on different days in the year.
One school of thought claims that this day emerged from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Mother worship which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and Rhea, the wife of Cronus, was held on March 15 to March 18 around Asia Minor. They insist that this custom spread around the world.
Mothering Sunday is the celebration of motherhood in the United Kingdom. It is also known as Mid-lent Sunday, Rose Sunday and Laetare Sunday. It originally comes from the Victorian practice of allowing servants to return home to visit their mothers on this day.
In the United States, Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 - October 17, 1910) was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet. Howes Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862 and quickly became one of the most popular songs for the Union during the American Civil War. After the war she focused her activities on the causes of Pacifism and womens suffrage. In 1870 she was the first to proclaim Mothers Day, with her Mothers Day Proclamation. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson approved Mothers Day in 1914
Africa Day
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Thursday May 25, 2023
Secular holiday : From 2009 When the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was created in May of 1963, the founding delegates proclaimed May 25, 1963 African Liberation Day (ALD), as the successor commemoration day of Africa Freedom Day.
Victoria Falls Marathon
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Saturday June 17, 2023
Sports events : 2023 edition confirmed
Fathers' Day
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Sunday June 18, 2023
cards/flowers :
Mid-term holiday (beginning)
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Thursday August 3, 2023
School holidays :
Heroes Day
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Monday August 14, 2023
Secular holiday :
Army Day
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Tuesday August 15, 2023
Secular holiday :
Mid-term holiday (end)
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Monday September 4, 2023
School holidays :