The Ever Diaries: Hello, April
A month of amusement.
This is the month when it really feels like springtime is arriving. The flowers are dancing in blooms, the trees are swinging with new leaves, the fresh grass smells quite like heaven, and the people are out and about with that slightest of bounces in their steps once more.
Where I’m currently at in the Midwest, April also always brings a little last lingering farewell from winter days. Be it waking up with frost on the ground, snowflakes falling, or just some chillier days, April always reminds me of the phrase, “a long farewell” when it comes to winter’s last grip on us.
Perhaps that is why this month starts off with April Fool’s… it always tends to play one last trick on us!
Anyhow, this month, I find myself feeling thankful for the newness this time of the year always brings… a reminder of the season of spring and its eternal lesson of freshness once again.
Here’s your Ever Diaries for April.
P.S. If you’re new here, every month I post an Ever Diaries where I celebrate the month ahead with joy. I always love to include a place I’m dreaming of in the newsletter, so take a peek at the pictures and see if you can guess where it is this month. I’ll let you know in the sign-off!
“Spring is the Earth’s way of believing in its growth and starting again —people have springs, too.”
Olivia Ann Rose Clarke
A little conundrum of a month
Back in the Roman calendar days, April was the second month, following March which started off the new year. Quite the shift from the modern new year starting in the stillness and quietness of January.
The Roman king Numa Pompilius is credited for this change when he introduced January as the first month, yet evidence—interestingly— shows the movement of the new year to January did not occur for the Roman calendar until hundreds of years after Pompilius’ death. Julius Caesar made the transfer towards the Julian calendar system, keeping January 1st as the beginning of the year later in 46 BCE, but the date would get shifted between Christmas and March 25th within the Christian faith as history marched on.
The Gregorian calendar made further adjustments back in 1582 (after holidays kept changing due to the Julian Calendar neglecting to account for those pesky leap years!) to become the calendar we use presently. Amazingly, Great Britain and its American colonies were some of the later adopters to the new Gregorian calendar, taking until 1752 for them to do so and for them to start their years on January 1st.
So, alas, while springtime brings forth this unbridled and beautiful energy with it, it still comes three months into the start of the “official” new year. However, it is interesting to think about the idea how, a long time ago… we would just be kicking off the new year right about now.
When it comes to April, it’s still wonderful riddle is how it came to get its name. Some suggest perhaps ‘Aphrilis’ is in honor of the Greek God of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. While others feel April took its name from the Latin word 'Aprilis,' which could be traced to 'aperire,' meaning 'to open,' the true origin remains—as the saying goes—lost to history.
No matter how April came to be or why, within it’s thirty days, there’s this new year freshness to it, this month is one of beauty and a reminder of why its rainbow-kissed skies, emerald green grasses, and lusciously fragrant flowers are a true delight year upon year.
Sources: https://www.dictionary.com/articles/april
& https://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start-on-january-1
Worth a revisit this month
April, in four words
A little snippet of words to describe this fourth month of the year.
1. Freshness: the air, the laundry, the atmosphere
2. Iridescent: rainbows which dance across the skies after a heavy April shower
3. Budding: the trees, the flowers, & new energy comes forth
4. Dawning: After a long winter’s tale, spring comes in bright like dawn… a reminder that the sun will always come again
That's a wrap for this month's Ever Diaries! In April, I dream about the love spell that is Provence, France. Someday, I'll get there!
Au revoir,
Claire
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS. These posts/resources are also not a substitute for medical/professional advice. Please seek professional help if you feel you or someone you know needs it.