April

La Vie Parisienne, April 26, 1924
April is the fourth month of the year. The Romans called it Aprillis, thought to come from the verb apeirre, meaning "to open", in reference to the opening and flowering of plants. April was sacred to the Goddess Venus, her festival, Veneralia, being celebrated on the first day of the month, and it was thought that maybe April was originally Aphrillis, taken from her Greek counter-part Aphrodite. The Anglo-Saxons knew April as ēastre-monaþ, named after the Goddess Eostre, and this word, ēastre, later became Easter, the name of the Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Mark's Eve takes place on the 24th, and superstition says that the ghosts of the people doomed to die that year will pass into the local church. The Finnish word for April is huhtikku, meaning "slash-and-burn moon", referencing the slashing and burning of plants to make fields. 

 The birth flower for April is the daisy, and the gemstone is the diamond. Zodiac signs are Aries, the ram, and Taurus, the Cretan bull killed by Theseus. In Egypt, Taurus was associated with the cow Goddess Hathor.

 April in other languages: Avril (French)
April as a name: April
Flowers: Daisy, Bellis (Bellis perennis is the scientific name of the common daisy), Madelief ("daisy"), Marguerite ("daisy")
Gems: Diamond, Diamanto ("diamond"), Almast ("diamond"), Kaimana ("diamond" and "sea power")
Zodiac: Aries, Ovid ("a sheep"), Kreios/Crius ("lord, master" or "ram"); Fintan ("white fire" or "white bull"), Gopala ("cow protector"), Enikő ("deer" or "cow"), Byron ("place of the cow sheds"), Hathor.
Fourth: Anan ("fourth born child"), Raabi'a ("fourth")
Other: Aprillis, Aphrillis, Venus, Aphrodite, Easter, Eostre, Mark.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 2, 2016 at 11:21 PM

    My cousin was Named April Dawn and she was born at dawn. Now knowing more on her name it seems befitting.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Angourie

Image
Angourie Rice Origin: Aboriginal Gender: Female Meaning: Possibly "tail-feather of a seagull or sea eagle" Pronunciation: ann-GOW-ree Other Forms: N/A I've finally gotten around to watching Kate Winslet's new show on HBO, Mare of Easttown, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It's gritty, and perfectly captures small-town life. Her daughter, Siobhan, is played by Australian actress Angourie Rice (her sister also has an unusual name -- Kalliope). Of course, being name-obsessed as I am, I immediately dove into researching the name! Angourie herself is named after a town in New South Wales where her grandmother lived. Angourie is said to be from an Aboriginal word meaning "tail-feather of a seagull or sea eagle". For many of the indigenous people of Australia, the white-bellied sea eagle is an important figure, seen as guardian of the people and land. The seagull as well is highly regarded, and for some peoples it was common to have a small ceremonial car
Read more

From Tzeitel to Bielke: The Five Daughters of Tevye

Image
  (From L-R) Rosalind Harris as Tzeitel, Neva Small as Chava and Michele Marsh as Hodel from Fiddler on the Roof When I very first saw Fiddler on the Roof , a 1971 film adaption of the musical based on a series of Yiddish stories written by Sholem Aleicham from 1894 to 1914, I fell in love. History has always been my passion, one my family kept stoked through books and movies. My mother always made sure my sister and I were exposed, especially to films, that would widen our cultural horizons. Ever since then, I've had a love and admiration for the Jewish culture, and of course that love connects to my other passion--names! Combining the two has led to this (very fun for me) post, featuring information about the names of Tevye's five strong-willed daughters. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! Here they are, from oldest to youngest: Tzeitel - Origin: Yiddish Gender: Female Pronunciation: SZIGH-tull Meaning: A diminutive of Sarah; "Princess" Other F
Read more

Yara

Image
Yara Shahidi Origin: Persian, Tupi, and Hebrew Gender: Unisex Meaning: "Sweetheart", "Strength", "Water Lady", "Honeycomb" or "Honeysuckle" Pronunciation: YAH-rah, YARR-uh Other Forms: Yaara, Iara, Uira To me this name is bursting with potential - it's short, feisty, and has a multitude of great meanings. It's already jumped a massive 312 spots from 2017 to 2018 where it currently sits at #672, and I think that's proof it's definitely one to watch out for. Yara, in Persian, can have two different meanings - "sweetheart" (or as Yara Shahidi's mother put it: "someone close to your heart"), it would seem, for girls, and "strength" for boys. In Hebrew (and more often spelled Yaara) it means "honeycomb" or "honeysuckle" which I think is gorgeous. In Tupi it means "water lady" or "lady of the water" and is the name of a character from Brazili
Read more