March observances

Today (April 22) is Earth Day, an international event celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental protection. The year 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of the annual celebrations. This year's theme for Earth Day is 'Restore Our Earth'.

In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as 'International Mother Earth Day'.

Ljubljana – The Ljubljana Stock Exchange has suspended its operations on Friday for Easter holidays. Due to the suspension of the European TARGET2 payment system, banks in the euro zone will not conduct interbank transactions until after Easter Monday.

April Fools' Day is celebrated on April 1 every year. Countries and cultures across the world have been celebrating April Fools' Day for generations. The exact origins of April Fools' Day is not quite clear but traditions of the fools day are all about playing hoaxes, jokes and pranks and then jumping up and yelling "April Fool"!.

Catholic believers celebrate Palm Sunday, a day of reminiscent of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by crowds carrying palm branches. "Traditionally, on Palm Sunday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest organizes a procession on the streets of Bucharest, which this year, for the second time, cannot take place due to the pandemic.

Catholic faithful this weekend celebrate Palm Sunday, a feast that commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by crowds that strewed palm branches before Him. "The traditional Palm Sunday procession organized by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest on the city streets had to be canceled for the second year in a row because of the pandemic.

 Today, March 25, Bulgaria celebrate the Annunciation Day (Blagoveshtenie), one of the major Christian holidays, part of the Easter cycle.

On the 1st of March Bulgarian people celebrate a centuries-old traditional holiday called the day of Baba Marta (or Grandma March), related to welcoming the approaching spring.

Pope Francis led the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into Lent on Ash Wednesday, as they scaled back a centuries-old ritual to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Francis, who normally marks the start of the penitential season with an outdoor procession between two ancient churches in Rome, instead said a Mass for about 120 people in St. Peter's Basilica.

Today, the world marks the International Day of Embrace. The day was first celebrated in 1986 in the United States, but quickly spread to other countries. The "tradition" that is observed on this day is to give friendly hugs, even to strangers.

Every year, Children's Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm in different countries of the world and at different dates.  And even though not all countries keep the same date, there is a Universal Children's Day on November 20th of each year starting 1954 by the United Nations General Assembly.