The April winds are magical, / And thrill our tuneful frames; / The garden-walks are passional / To bachelors and dames.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “April”
April is a busy month – full of celebration, remembrance, and delight. Dormant bulbs spring forth in yellow, red, and blue in April. Furry creatures emerge from winter burrows. Trees bud in verdant profusion. Ah, April.
April quickens the human heart. It’s National Poetry Month. April 2 starts Ramadan. April 15 is Good Friday and the start of Passover. Easter is April 17. The 22nd is Earth Day, the 29th Arbor Day, and the 30th International Jazz Day. There’s something for everyone this month.
A monumental month, the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912; our revolutionary war began on April 19,1775; and our civil war began and ended in April, 500,000 dead. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed on April 4, 1968. On a lighter note, William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564: “What light through yonder window breaks?”
If you’re a foodie, and most of us are, the 5th is Deep Dish Pizza Day; the 7th, National Beer Day and National Burrito Day; the 12th is National Grilled Cheese Day; and the 26th, National Pretzel Day. Yum.
April is a love month, presaged by February 14, Valentine’s Day. April love has been celebrated in poem and song: It Was An April Morn: Fresh And Clear, by William Wordsworth in poem and April Love by Pat Boone and others in song.
My favorite April song is April in Paris. With apt local references – try to remember the melody of April in Paris – here ‘tis:
April in Highlands, chestnuts in blossom
Holiday tables under the trees
April in Cashiers, this is a feeling
No one can ever reprise
I never knew the charm of spring
I never met it face to face
I never knew my heart could sing
I never missed a warm embrace
Till April in Glenville
Whom can I run to
What have you done to my heart?
I never knew the charm of spring
I never met it face to face
I never knew my heart could sing
I never missed a warm embrace
Till April in Scaly
Whom can I run to, what did you mean to
What have you done to my heart?
What indeed? How sweet our hearts in April!
Wishing you all the joys of the new season.
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