The word April is probably derived from the Latin, _Aperio_, I open,
since spring generally begins and Nature unfolds her buds in this month.
April is regarded as the most sacred month in the calendar of the
Church, since it usually includes Good Friday, on which day blacksmiths
once refused to work owing to the fact that one son of Vulcan made the
nails for the Crucifixion.
_FIRST OF APRIL._--The great majority of the old-time customs which
clustered round this day and contributed a dash of gaiety and humor
to the more prosaic, everyday life of the community, have fallen into
the limbo of forgotten things, and the day is chiefly remembered by
schoolchildren, who exercise their juvenile ingenuity in playing pranks
on their fellows.
The most careful research has failed to ascertain the exact origin of
these observances, and someone has hazarded the theory that they began
with the advent of the second man on earth, who sought to try the
effects of a practical joke on the first.
Anyhow, a form of fooling may be traced to the time of the Roman
Empire, but little mention of such a thing is to be found in English
literature until the eighteenth century, although "Hunting the Gowk,"
the sending of some half-witted youth, the village idiot, on some
utterly absurd errand from house to house, was long before then a
favorite pastime in Scotland, and in France, too.
A weather prophecy for this day runs:
If it thunders on All Fools Day,
It brings good crops of corn and hay.
_SIMNEL OR MOTHERING SUNDAY._--It is a very old custom to make rich
cakes during Lent and Easter, which are known as Simnel cakes. In South
Lancashire the fourth Sunday of Lent is known as Simnel or Mothering
Sunday, and young people provide themselves with delicious cakes
"'gainst they go a-mothering." The sons and daughters present these to
their mothers, who in turn regale their families with "furmenty" or
"frumenty," derived from froment (wheat), as the dish was made of wheat
and milk, with the addition of a few raisins. For children to fail in
paying this compliment to their mothers is sometimes taken as a sign
that they will have no further opportunity of doing so.
_GOOD FRIDAY._--It is a misnomer to name the world's blackest Friday
thus, but the words are a corruption of _GOD'S FRIDAY_. Many quaint
and curious customs are connected with its celebration, the origins of
which are not merely secular but pagan, as well.
For instance, the worship of Terminus, the Romans' pagan god, has
still left its mark on Christian England, where, in certain parishes,
the custom known as "beating the bounds" is still kept up. Terminus
decreed that everyone possessing land should mark the boundaries with
stones and pay honor to Jupiter once a year. Failure to do this would
invoke the wrath of Jupiter and the crops growing on the land would
be blighted. Good Friday or the days previous were marked out for the
ceremony.
A wet Good Friday has always been considered favorable for crops,
although people on pleasure bent will think otherwise:
"A wet Good Friday and a wet Easter Day foreshows a fruitful year."
It may be useful to add here a saying about the day previous to Good
Friday; it runs, "Fine on Holy Thursday, wet on Whit-Monday. Fine on
Whit-Monday, wet on Holy Thursday."
_HOT-CROSS BUNS._--Hot-cross buns may be either a survival of the
sacred cakes offered in the temples to the gods, or of the unleavened
bread eaten by the Jews at the Passover. Bread marked with crosses was
common in ancient Egypt before the days of Christianity. It is an old
belief that the eating of buns on this day protects the house from
fire, and other virtues are ascribed to them. For instance, to eat such
a bun grants a wish that you may be anxious to realize.
_EASTER._--This name is derived from _Eoster_, the goddess of light and
of spring, in whose honor a festival was held in the month of April.
Few, if any of the old customs observed at this time still survive.
Eggs, as being the emblem of the Resurrection, are peculiar to the
feast of Easter, and it is lucky to eat them on the morning of
Easter Sunday. At one time, paschal candles were lit to signify the
Resurrection of our Lord. These were of colossal size, and each church
seemed to vie with its neighbor as to which should have the largest.
Easter Sunday was known as Joy Sunday, and was celebrated by gifts
to the poor and the liberation of prisoners. It was a time when all
differences of opinion should be swept aside and enemies should be
forgiven. To harbor enmity against others was to ensure a time of
blackness for oneself.
Many curious customs used to be observed. Most of them have fallen into
decay, but in some parts of the country bouquets in the form of balls
are still presented, and graves are decorated with sweet spring flowers.