April, the month of madness!

By Anis Albasha

Discipline and rules are considered an integral part of the German culture. Most Germans prefer things to be predictable, predetermined and stable so they can make accurate plans for everything. But the month of April has a unique nature here in Germany. It has no fixed or predictable patterns. And when Germans see foreign people get confused about April, they immediately say with a smile “April April, der macht was er will”.

This phrase means “April does whatever he wants”. In German language, it is vital to distinguish between masculine and feminine, and since April is a masculine noun –don’t ask me why- ‘He’ takes the masculine pronoun “er” and he acts in a very masculine rebellious way indeed. According to the astronomical calendar, spring usually starts in March which means that April is supposed to be an extension of spring. However, this month has its own free will and it acts literally according to that phrase. It does not fit in any seasonal category so you have to expect a mixture of crazy weather during its 30 days.

As a matter of fact, there are four seasons in Germany: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each season has its own weather patterns and aspects. But when it comes to April, we can call it the month of the all seasons. April can give you the sense of spring, winter, summer and autumn in less than 24 hours. Before I witness the month of April in Germany, I very much enjoyed observing the seasonal changes, especially in the autumn and in the winter. For a person who comes from a land where there is no variation in daylight hours as well as there is no major temperature swings throughout the whole year, it was interesting to see the drastic changes in climate which occur in European countries.

As time goes on, I have become familiar with meteorological terms like cluster headache, flurry, freezing rain, glaze, gusts speed, dew point and frost point. I have also learned how -or at least how to pretend- to be clam when hearing or reading some scary climatic terms such as ‘widespread damaging winds’, ‘heavy snow warning’, ‘severe storms’ or ‘blowing snow’. It was also interesting to observe how these regular patterns of the weather are reflected at different levels on people’s life here in Germany.

For instance, there are two main sales periods in Germany, winter sale and summer sale. There are also other sales being offered during different times of the year but they are not as big as those of summer and winter. Besides, people in Germany usually make their traveling plans and carry out different activities according to the weather. Of course, it is difficult to have fixed plans in April! That's why people have to adjust with this month until it is gone. If you live in Germany and have no prior experience of April, you would feel excited about the advent of the first couple of days of this month which bring along mild weather after a long time of cold days.

Gearing up for the charming spring breezes, you would get rid of all your heavy clothes and you would put on light clothes instead. Several days later, you will find out that you were duped when the weather completely turned over and the temperature becomes 4 or 2 or even – 3! This drastic change in weather might happen without any prior warning and on a spur of moment. That's to say, you may open the window in the morning to see a shiny sun with a clear sky. The weather forecast says that the temperature outside is 15. So, you put on some light clothes and rush out to enjoy the nice weather. One or two hours later, the sun disappears and the sky becomes covered with clouds and all of a sudden, heavy rains wets you from head to toe. At that moment, each raindrop would sound to you like a sarcastic laugh made by April!

Next time, you told yourself that you have got the lesson and you won’t let that happen again. So, when you go out you make sure that you wear heavy cloths, you get your umbrella in your hand and you have your rain boots in your feet. You may look funny as you walk down the street holding your umbrella while the weather is sunny. But the view of the scattered clouds in the sky makes you feel that you have made the right decision. It is a matter of a few minutes before the weather gets changed and you will be the one who is going to laugh this time.

However, in a flash, all the clouds got vanished and the weather temperature rises abruptly! At that moment, you don't have to feel ashamed of yourself. If you want a little comfort just look around and you would see many people who acted like you. Those people are Germans and they already knew all these April tricks, but they were fooled just like you. It is Ok, it is April and as we know now, he does whatever he wants.

Being tricked by April’s weather several times, I have come to realize the importance of 'wearing layers' technique which is adopted by Germans during this period of time. It is such a simple and practical style where people have to wear multiple layers of clothing. So, when it is hot you can remove a layer and when it turns over you can put that layer on again. Some people got carried away with this method and they look like moving clothing closets with all these pieces they wear such as storm coats, rain coats, sweaters, shawls, pullovers, gloves…Etc. So you don't have to do like them, just put two or three layers and that would be fine. 

All in all, it is true that the weather in north Germany is extremely fluctuating in April. Yet, it is admirable to see how people have adapted to their variable weather in several ways, not only in April but during the whole year. They build their houses in a certain design, they wear appropriate clothing according to each season and they have tools and plans for the different times of the year. Though it rains almost all around the year, there are no stormwater drains in the streets due to the perfect rain drainage systems. As a result, people can make plans and do activities and maintain a discipline life even when they have to go through an indiscipline days like those of April.