Today’s blog is about April. April (kwiecień) was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meanting ‘to open’, or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love. In Polish kwiecień seems to come from “kwitnąć” (to blossom), since everything is blossoming.
Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.
In some parts of the world, it’s planting time. In other parts, it’s the harvest season. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again.
Here are some popular Polish sayings about April:
Kiedy w kwietniu słonko grzeje, wtedy chłop nie zubożeje. (When the sun is warm in April, the peasant will not get poor)
Czasem kwietnia pora letnia, człeka zwiedzie, w zimę zjedzie. (Sometimes the summer season in April, a man deceived, the winter will see)
Gdyby w kwietniu nie padało, to owoców będzie mało. (If it did not rain in April, there will be not too many fruit)
Ciepły kwiecień, mokry maj, będzie żytko jako gaj. (Warm April, wet May will make rye grow beautiful – it is almost like “April showers bring May flowers”)
Kwiecień, plecień, bo przeplata, trochę zimy, trochę lata,
pół wiosenny, pół zimowy, nie każdemu bywa zdrowy,
to zaświeci błyskawicą, to zasypie twarz śnieżycą.
(April intertwines, some winter, some summer,
half spring, half winter, it does not bring health to everyone,
sometimes lightning flashes, sometimes snow blizzard is in your face)
Choć i w kwietniu słonko grzeje, nieraz pole śnieg zawieje. (While the sun is warm in April, sometimes blows snow on the field.)
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
