FACTS ABOUT THE MONTH OF APRIL.

    Gemstone: Diamond.

                                                        Flower: Sweet pea.

Historians are not sure where April got it’s name from but it is believed to originate from the Latin word ‘aperire’ which means ‘to open’. April is the month when most of the flower buds on plants and trees start to open and things begin to grow again after the winter.

Eostre monath or Eastremonath was the Anglo -Saxon name for this month and it is from the Anglo- Saxons that the name of the Christian Festival of Easter comes from.

Superstitions:

 The Cuckoo.

The arrival of the cuckoo is the signal that spring has come. It arrives some time in mid-April but it’s sound is becoming scarce as it’s numbers are in decline. The cuckoo’s song can be heard from St. Tiburtius Day ( 14th April ) to St. John’s Day (24th June ).  Here is a old traditional rhyme about the summer life cycle of the Cuckoo.

In April I open my bill

In May I sing night and day

In June I change my tune

In July far far I fly

In August away I must.

In different parts of the country there are various dates in the month called ‘Cuckoo Day’ and some places even hold ‘Cuckoo Fairs;

Marsden Cuckoo Day ( West Yorkshire )

Heathfield Cuckoo Fair ( East Sussex )

Downtown Cuckoo Fair ( Salisbury Wiltshire )

It was also said that if you heard the Cuckoo’s call on St. Tiburtis Day and you turned over all the money in your pockets and spat on the ground without looking at it!  and if you were on soft ground, it would bring you good luck but if you were stood on hard ground when you did it, it’s call would bring you bad luck.

The Cuckoo.

The Swallow.

The Swallow also makes it’s reappearance in April after it’s migration flight from it’s winter hide away in Africa. In very olden times people were mystified by the sudden  disappearance of many migratory bird’s at the end of the summer and they thought that the Swallow spent the winter months hidden in the mud in the bottom of ponds. Traditionally April 15th is ‘Swallow Day’ the date that the first Swallow’s could be seen.

Weather - Lore, Beliefs and sayings.

Like many other months in the calendar April has it’s fair share of beliefs and sayings, here are just a few;

April showers bring May flowers.

If early April is foggy

Rain in June

Will make lanes boggy.

When April blows its horn

‘Tis good for hay and corn.

Other Dates to Remember.

April 1st.  April Fools Day also Palm Sunday and Daffodil Day all fall on April 1st this year.

        5th.   Maundy Thursday.

        6th.   Good Friday.

        8th.   Easter Sunday.

       17th.  St. Patricks Day.

       18th.  Mothering Sunday.

       19th.  Primrose Day. 

       23rd.  St. Georges Day.

       25th.  Start of British Summer Time.

       30th.  Walpurgis Night. ( Beltane Eve. )

Walpurgis Night.

Walpurgis night is a Celtic and a Viking celebration, the reason for the celebration by the Celts was to celebrate the coming of summer and to the Vikings it was to hasten the arrival of spring and summer and also to frighten away evil spirits. The lighting of Bonfires on hilltops and in villages was an essential part of the ceremony, in other parts of the world it would also include other customs and celebrations. It is not widely celebrated in Britain except in Scotland and in Ireland but it is in Northern Europe in Norway, Sweden and Finland being the main countries of this celebration.

Walpurgis Night Celebrations.