by

On April 2015

Note: Opening Night for Meals: The Musical is Wednesday, 9:30 pm (Eastern US) with songs with any of the following in the title: Meal(s), Breakfast, Lunch, Lunchtime, Brunch, Dinner, Dinnertime, Supper, Snack, Snacktime, or Food(s).

April, spring in the Northern hemisphere, but autumn in the Southern hemisphere, therefore

April and October are seasonal equivalents.

April, the second rainiest month of the year (after July)

April, starting the same day of the week as July in all years, and January in leap years

April, ending on the same day of the week as December every year

April, called Aprilis by the Romans

April, fittingly for the blooming action of the season, its traditional etymology from the verb aperire – to open

April, the second of the earliest Roman calendar

April, sacred to Venus, the Roman goddess

April, the fourth month of the current calendar year, but it originally had 29 days as Julius Caesar added its 30th day

April, called Oster-monath or Eostur-monath by the Anglo-Saxons

April, huhtikuu in Finnish, which refers to burning the vegetation to clear farmland

April, mail traven in Slovene, meaning when plants start growing

April Symbols

  • Zodiac Signs: Aries (The Ram) Apr. 19, then Taurus (The Bull) Apr. 20 – May 20
  • Birthstone: Diamond, White Sapphire / Meaning: Innocence
  • Birth Flower: The Daisy or the Sweet Pea symbolizes curiosity, playfulness and tenaciousness

April, whose moon is called Slash-and-Burn Moon, Egg Moon, Grass Moon, Hare Moon

April, with a Full Moon on April 4th 12:05 UTC, and a New Moon on April 18th 18:56 UTC

April in movie titles include April in Paris (1953), The April Fools (1969), April Fool’s Day (1986, 2008), April Morning (1987), Enchanted April (1992), Pieces of April (2003), Sometimes in April (2005), April Love, April Showers (2011), April Snow (2012), April Morning (2012)

Songs titles (other than the videos) include Sometimes It Snows in April (Prince), April (Deep Purple), A Rose in April (Ann Gray-Raven-Seanachie), April Is In My Mistress’ Face (John Rutter), April Rain (Al Jolson), I’ll Remember April (Charlie Parker), January April and Me (Roy Clark), Little April Shower (Disney, from Bambi), Pieces Of April (Three Dog Night), and The April Fools (Dionne Warwick)

April, the first name of many pornstars – but not everyone named April is a pornstar

April, the time of a series of 1834 insurrections in France against the government of Louis Philippe that led to violent oppression – thus the name, The Days of April

April, a series of Mackey Chandler books

April promotes adopting a greyhound, ASPCA, astronomy, car care, Confederate history, defeating diabetes, fair housing, financial literacy, child nutrition, home improvement, informed women, Twit Awards, African-American women’s fitness, decorating, pest management, safe digging, physical wellness, preventing Lyme Disease in dogs, women’s eye health & safety, community service, and tackling your clutter

April aims to increase awareness in alcohol, autism, cancer control, bereaved spouses, Cesareans, distracted driving, emotional overreacting, genocide & human rights, habitats, Irritable Bowels Syndrome, DNA-Genomics-Stem Cell Education, facial protection, heartworms, multiple births, health of minorities, Parkinson’s, sarcoidosis, STDs, youth sports safety, pet first aid, Rosacea, testicular cancer, workplace conflict, anxiety, and stress

April celebrates amateur radio, diversity, couple appreciation, fresh Florida tomatoes, frogs, Grange, holy humor, guitars, gardens, knuckles down, occupational therapy, pets, poetry, rebuilding, school library media, soy foods, zoos & aquariums, welding, and Thai heritage

April embraces Atlanta food & wine, Arab-American heritage, child abuse prevention, community spirit, customer loyalty, jazz appreciation, libraries, young children, military children, card & letter writing, grilled cheese sandwiches, humor, kites, landscape architecture, pecans, straw hats, woodworking, math education, recycling, smiles, and pets are wonderful

Do you have any special occasions in April? Which songs did you enjoy?

70 thoughts on “On April 2015”

  2. My partner of 43 years, now deceased, was in a class with Art Garfunkle at Columbia University’s Teachers College, in the late 1960’s—studying for a Master’s in Math Education. Garfunkle apparently used to rush in and out of class always carrying a guitar…on the way to or from one gig or another. We lost track of him. I wonder if he ever became a math teacher? You can play me any of Simon and Garfunkle, anytime. Wishing you a most auspicious April, Frank.

    Like

    Reply

    • Cynthia,
      Oh my my … now there’s a story. Many thanks for sharing. According to his website: “He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia College, majoring in Art History; later he earned his Masters degree in Mathematics at Columbia University.” … but there is no other mention of math … however, Wikipedia states he started working on his doctorate during the peak of S&G music.

      Like

      Reply

  5. Today is my sister’s birthday, Frank. She emailed my brother and me yesterday asking if we remember the year that our dad gift wrapped a grapefruit as an April Fool’s Day birthday prank. I was too young to recall that one, but I got a kick out of hearing about it.

    Like

    Reply

  6. Can’t say I’m familiar with any of the April songs you included, but I enjoyed hearing Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and Julie London perform. Not so much so with Rufus Wainwright. I choose to take a powder whenever Pat Boone sings or talks.

    Like

    Reply

    • Tim,
      The fact that you are not familiar with any of these songs is quite high praise to my selection process. On the downside, that also means you didn’t select any of these songs for a marching band show.

      Like

      Reply

      • You betcha! I’m an Aries so that tells you how far not to go!
        I used to loathe Rufus Wainwright but, like mould to bread, he grew on me… not with this song though! Bing is always a favourite as are Billie and Louis. I was unfamiliar with Julie London ~ quite the mellow voice, has she… Me likey.

        Like

        Reply

  8. Both my mother and sister share a birthday in April. It was like Christmas in our family when I was growing up since half of our members were celebrating – and my Mom, in particular, loved birthdays! For the first time in many years, my sister is living near us and I’m looking forward to celebrating her birthday in person. Our Mom passed eight years ago, but we’ll include her in the festivities with a toast! Thanks for all of the April facts, Frank!

    Like

    Reply

    • Marina,
      Well now … that would be an interesting song to include … then again, maybe an addition for a future month. Hmmmm … all I have to do is find a musically creative person who could create a short piece on a piano … then put it to original art to match the theme. Cheers to your April!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Hi Frank! What a wonderful month to celebrate now that I’ve read everything there is to know about it here! I want you to know that the thought and effort you put into your posts is really impressive and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Loved the videos as well – favorite was “April in Portugal” since I visited way back in ’92 when I was finishing school in Spain. It was a beautiful country and I felt like I was in the 1950’s there for some reason! Happy April 1 – finally! 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  12. April is awesome. Snow and rain finally give way to flowers and sunshine! My favorite season is Autumn, but I’ve always fallen in love in the spring. April is my birthday month and our anniversary month, so it’s special to me. I loved all your information and song selections, Frank. When I was a youngster, I always thought Pat Boone was singing April Love to ME. 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    • Maddie,
      Cheers to both your birthday and anniversary, so many thanks for sharing. Yes … the snow is done .. and if it returns, it will only be a short burst. … and I think Pat Boone was singing to you.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. I just love Billie Holiday, and I haven’t heard this song in such a long time Frank. I swear you could be a radio jock. You’d be so good at it. I’m just swaying to the music and wishing the April weather would hurry up and get warm lol. It’s just not that warm yet. Love this post

    Like

    Reply

    • Kay,
      I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to pick certain types of songs for specific posts … so that’s a good thing since I share a variety of songs. Thanks for the kind words … and warmth is on the way!

      Like

      Reply

  15. What a wonderful April post! I don’t have time to listen to all of the songs now, but I love “April Come She Will.” It’s on The Graduate soundtrack, too–a movie I love, partly because of that soundtrack.
    There is also a lot of poetry about April, including the famous Canterbury Tales prologue.

    Like

    Reply

  16. A wonderful medley of April songs, aFrank. I particularly like April Come She Will by Simon & Garfunkel. I got to see them many years ago in a small community college basketball arena with about a 100 others before they became internationally famous. Simon was the talkative one then. I got to see them again many, many years later with thousands of others. Garfunkel took over the talking and Simon sulked in a corner between songs. The songs, though, were still inspiring.

    Like

    Reply

  17. April is a special month for us because my hubby was born this month. Unfortunately, on April 1st. I wrote a story about it today. If you have time pop on over and read it. This song is a favorite of ours for several reasons. As a musician who plays trumpet, clarinet and cornet, Louie is his man. The 2nd reason it’s a fav is Ella. How can you not dance a slow dance to her syrupy voice that’s says LOVE … LOVE … LOVE !!!!! https://youtu.be/fCsNg6XB3dg

    Like

    Reply

  19. Two of my three children (the oldest and the youngest) were born in April. Here in Australia, April is the second month of autumn and all of the “spring” things don’t apply to us. I love both autumn and spring however, so I will apply the spring sentiments to my autumn happiness. Food and meals eh Mr Frank? It’s actually Thursday here so I had better get thinking about them!

    Like

    Reply

    • Narf,
      Cheers to your bookend children’s birthday during April. Blogging has taught me to recognize the metric world and those on the upside-down part of the earth – thus way I acknowledge the southern hemisphere … but for most of my readers, spring it is. Nonetheless, I hope Stevie Boy is up to the challenge of the opening act – well, that is if you need him.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. I always breathe easier when April comes because I know spring is finally here. Of course, tonight my husband told me it’s supposed to snow again next week so that kind of burst my bubble. But it was almost 60 degrees today, so that was sweet.

    As always, the research you put into these posts is impressive, Frank. Thanks for sharing it with us.

    Like

    Reply

  23. “April showers bring May flowers.”
    And – SPRING, SPRING, SPRING! 😀

    I love April because this is my dad’s bday month. This year he will be 78.

    As for the song – I went with LA – I like the feel of the music in that one.

    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY month to you & the Mrs. ❤ ❤

    Like

    Reply

  24. April a special time for new and renewal – I’m sensing this is going to be a very special play Frank. Looking forward to taking this trip with you.

    Like

    Reply

Comment with respect.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.