Just a few short days ago snow again covered the local landscape, and not just a little. How disheartening the weather looked coming into the month of April. It also made travel a little more cautious for the Easter weekend but thankfully ‘old man winter’ is waning with the forecast this week of really nice warm weather to come, even up to +20 degrees if it makes it. For me this is great news, although I understand ground moisture is desperately needed in our region.
Mother Nature, would it be possible to have the moisture now in liquid form? You know the old adage, “April showers…brings May flowers…” But yes, I do know, the weatherman sometimes gets confused in April when the weather can change on a dime.
When I awoke this April 1st Monday morning with the sun streaming in so boldly, I was encouraged…until about 9am when gray skies overtook the sunny landscape. Oh well, there’s no use in letting the weather affect my optimism because I can’t do anything about it anyway. I choose to continue to make spring plans, plan my garden, change over my closet to spring/summer wear and be happy! I also thought about spring cleaning, but I happily will procrastinate a little longer before I attempt the arduous task, only taking on a little at a time so I can enjoy the experience throughout the rest of the year…You know the saying, “Why do it today when you can leave it to tomorrow?”
I started to muse over the month of April and wondered if it held any significance amongst its other counterparts. That’s when I came across an article online, Everything you should know about April written by Catherine Boeckmann and found here.
“April received its name from the Latin work aperio, ‘to open (bud),’ plants begin to grow in this month. In essence, this month was viewed as spring’s renewal.”
And because of today, April 1st, I might twist your brains into believing that I am considering running for Mayor this upcoming election…but considering that it’s April Fools Day, I will confirm that was a blatant untruth and of no interest to me.
No one seems to be sure of why April 1st became April Fools Day, the day of pranks and shenanigans but I assure you, don’t believe everything you hear on this day, even if it is a trusted source.
The Jewish remembrance of Passover starts this month on April 22nd. At this link, it says, “Rabbi Benjamin Berger, vice president of Jewish education at Hillel International, said Passover is known as the 'festival of freedom…a celebration of not only the freedom of the Jewish people emerging from slavery in Egypt, and a tradition that results that is about remembering, and really putting ourselves in the shoes of those slaves and those who experienced the release from bondage, but also it reminds us of the freedom of all people.'”
If you need something else to celebrate in April, here are a few options to run with:
- Apr. 1 (first Monday in April): Sweet Potato Day
- Apr. 6 (first Saturday in April): International Pillow Fight Day
- Apr. 7: National No Housework Day
- Apr. 17: Blah, Blah, Blah Day
- Apr. 21 (third Sunday in April): Go Fly a Kite Day
- Apr. 26: National Richter Scale Day
- Apr. 28 (last Saturday in April): National Sense of Smell Day
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
