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It's a day unlike any other ... but really, aren't they all?
Well, we all made it to the end of April. Tomorrow begins May and we officially don't even begin Summer until Thursday, June 20, 2024.
The supernatural or spiritual significance of April 30 comes from the date’s assignation as Walpurgis Night, or Saint Walpurga’s Eve; May 1 is the feast day for Saint Walpurga who was an Anglo-Saxon missionary canonized in 870. In addition to fighting against rabies, whooping cough, and pests, Walpurga was held up as bastion of faith against witchcraft. That’s where April 30 gets weird.
In Germany, April 30 is also Hexxenacht; the night when witches are said to have celebrations on the Brocken, a tall mountain. There are also folk tales across Europe that equate the day to Halloween, suggesting that the walls between the living and the dead are thin. This practice is immortalized in scenes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s classic play 'Faust.' It’s still a tradition across the continent to light bonfires on April 30, partially in tribute to the eve of the saint’s day, and partially out of superstition to ward off evil spirits.
In more modern times, we’re used to inaugural events happening in January, History teaches us that the freshly minted United States needed a little time to get the mechanics of government in place. After New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788, it was decided that the actual business of the new American government would begin in March of 1789. That included all of the preparations for the election and installation of the first president.
The electoral college was born, for better or worse. Over the course of December 1788 to January 1789, electors from each state were chosen, and all 69 electoral votes were unanimously awarded to George Washington. He took the oath of office on April 30,1789 the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, New York, as the newly planned capital was still under construction. The second president, John Adams, would be the first to live in the White House.
Thomas Jefferson, the third president, effectively doubled the size of our young country of America in one fell swoop. The United States paid France a combination of $15 million in gold, bonds, and debt relief, which came out to roughly 4 cents per acre. This land, named after King Louis XIV, included parts of 15 current states. The treaty was signed on April 30, 1803,
Following up on the treaty (or purchase of the land), the broader land was reorganized into various districts and territories. The Territory of Orleans functionally encompassed the area that would become the 18th state called Louisiana on April 30,1812. After statehood became official, the Louisiana Territory to the north was renamed the Missouri Territory. Two days later, eight Florida parishes were annexed into the state, forming the boundaries of modern Louisiana. Today we know this treaty as the 'Louisiana Purchase.'
Hawaii was a bit more complicated. The majority of the people of Hawaii were not in favor of annexation, as they wanted to remain independent, and many petitions were drafted in opposition. Nevertheless, negotiations began under President William McKinley, and were completed with the Newlands Resolution. The Resolution was passed by the House and Senate in 1898, with the territorial status becoming official on April 30,1900. Hawaii wouldn’t become a state for another 60 years.
Renowned theoretical physicist Albert Einstein completed his doctoral thesis on April 30, 1905 and was awarded a PhD. from the University of Zurich for his dissertation ... some light reading entitled “A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” Scientists and historians refer to 1905 as 'Einstein’s miracle year,' because in addition to the thesis, he published four other papers that had a major impact on how we view existence. He wrote on special relativity (about the relationship between space and time), the equivalence of mass and energy, the photoelectric effect (which has to do with light-matter interaction), and Brownian motion (which is related to particle movement). He was 26.
Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955). In this photo he is 26 years of age.
The World’s Fair opened in New York City, and NBC was there. They aired their first television broadcast on April 30,1939. Already a prominent radio network, NBC ventured into TV with a live broadcast of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the event.
This next bit will always be in question, but it is generally accepted that Hitler and Eva Braun, his wife of one day, committed suicide on April 30,1945 in Hitler’s bunker in Berlin as Allied forces bore down on the city. I'd much rather think the monster died that day than that he got away.
Back to the spiritual end of things, on April 30,1966, the Church of Satan was founded by Anton Szandor LaVey at the Black House in San Francisco, the Church of Satan has drawn both the ire and interest of millions ever since. The church rejected the popular misconception of the group as “devil worshippers,” and, in fact, dismissed belief in the devil or a traditional Christian view of Satan. LaVey would often explain the church’s actual stance as atheism in the face of an indifferent, uncaring universe. Most scholars agree that the church was the first serious expression of Satanism as an organized concept.
On April 30,1975 the end of the Vietnam War came with the Fall of Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam. The People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong took the city as American forces undertook Operation Frequent Wind, evacuating American military personnel, civilians, and several thousand citizens of South Vietnam. The operation was the largest helicopter evacuation in history, immortalized in photos of evacuees loading into the choppers that would take them to safety. The American ground war had lasted just over 10 years; the United States suffered losses totaling more than 58,000 through the course of the war.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics report that suicide rates in the United States are lowest during the winter months and highest in the spring and summer. Depression rears its ugly head whenever it feels like it, but in April ... the true beginning of spring ... it really seems to make an appearance for many of us. I know that just this past year I have realized that thirteen of my friends from back in the day ... a few to whom I was quite close at one time, passed on in 2018 and 2019. No one thought to notify me ... but I know now. Difficult to take all those memories hitting me at once. I have been reliving memories from my childhood and early adulthood. Part of aging, I guess!
April also has a literary importance that I found interesting. Poet 'TS Eliot's' masterpiece 'The Wasteland' evokes the misery of human depression. its opening line April is the cruelest month' gives us pause when we look at it and what it really means. I've only posted the beginning lines of this poem, because I didn't think all 500 lines of the thing would make inspiring/exciting reading:
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
This opening stanza is strange. It refers to the blooming of flowers and the coming of spring in gloomy tones. Meanwhile, winter is viewed nostalgically; with snow keeping us warm. This is in contrast to most people’s ideas of spring and winter, and the idea that winter keeps us warm is a paradox. Why is April cruel? Is it because of tax season? No wonder people get a few lines in and then quit.
Eliot is reminding us that contrast can have a great effect on our happiness. With April's presence and the promises of spring, sun, beauty, and growth the despairing person is placed in stark contrast to the bright world around them. In winter, however, everything is dead, cold, barely alive and doesn’t show a contrast to the inner life of someone in despair.
If you care to look up the poem in its entirety, if you can get through it, more may became clear. Throughout the poem, references are made to memories and how they are triggered. Winter helps us forget, spring starts to pull them back out, characters discuss what they can and can’t remember in between seemingly random tangents down memory lane.
Memory contrasts past with the present in the same way winter is contrasted with spring. Here, memory shows decay over time. Spring rekindles these memories and brings pain; the numbness of winter is a welcome alternative for the speaker.
Is April the cruelest month? Perhaps, perhaps not. It depends on how you view things ... I found this little quote, which is charming. I know I went a little dark there for a few paragraphs, so I'd like to end things with this:
"A gush of bird-song, a patter of dew. A cloud, and a rainbow's warning. Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue - An April day in the morning."
Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford
Darkmum
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