Celebrations in April

But in the North Pole April brings a lot of fun and festive times for the elves. With holidays that celebrate their love of fun and faith, April has it all.

April Fools Day
Most of the elves here at the North Pole love a good joke, so you can imagine the chaos that could ensue if they all played tricks on one day. But the elves have been around a long time. They have heard many stories of the beginning of this holiday. The origin story of April Fool’s Day was a little mean spirited. It is thought to begin back in the late 1500s! France had switched from the Julian calendar (as in Julius Caesar) to the Gregorian calendar (which was first introduced by Pope Gregory XIII). This made New Year's Day the January 1st day we celebrate today. News did not travel fast in those days, so people that weren’t aware of the calendar change celebrated in the last week of March (since the Julian calendar placed the new year around the Spring Equinox). People would make fun of them and refer to them as April Fools. Thankfully, it is much more playful now. So the elves like to monitor the jokes around the world (Remember, they help determine if you are naughty or nice). Good spirited pranks make them laugh!! Some of the elves like to collect, or write down, their favorite pranks, so they can save them to try later.

Easter
Easter is a special time at the North Pole. The elves work so hard to honor Jesus Christ on the day we celebrate his birth as part of their devotion to him. So they take time to rest and reflect on Easter, the time to celebrate His resurrection. Like many other cultures and religions, at Easter time we use eggs to symbolize the promise of a new life. The elves love to paint eggs and hide them around the North Pole. Even in the toy workshop!

St George’s Day
St. George is the Patron Saint of Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, and Spain and because the elves are citizens of the world, they love to celebrate St. George’s Feast Day! St George was an early Christian warrior and martyr. In the 15th century it is said that St. George’s Day was a huge day of celebration, almost on par with Christmas. Some simple ways the elves honor St. George is to wear blue, his favorite color. Wearing a rose in their lapels is also customary, as it is in the countries that celebrate this day. The elves also like to make a traditional English feast such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on this day!