April 2026 Almanac

Inscape full of strength and grace

I do not think I have ever seen anything more beautiful than the bluebell I have been looking at. I know the beauty of our Lord by it. Its inscape is full of strength and grace.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, journal entry (May 18, 1870)

In each Almanac, you’ll find a ‘book of days’ to track this month’s HF gatherings & resources, as well as an ever-growing collection of art and resources to help you mark your days throughout April.

Consider saving this post to peek back at it throughout the month!

Pax+bonum, Kristin.

Would you like some music while you read?

Founder Box announcements

• Your Spring Founder Boxes have shipped out and should be arriving any day now! I’d love to hear more about how you’re using and delighting in the goodies in this season’s box…would you like to share any pictures or ideas over in our Chat?
  

Online gatherings

• APRIL 18 | Saturday at noon Pacific Time | Substack Live Q&A with Dixie Dillon Lane and myself about our pilgrimage invitation
  » For all subscribers: Dixie & I will be hopping onto Substack Live to gush about all the things we’re excited to experience in our upcoming pilgrimage, as well as answer your questions!
  

• APRIL 25 | Saturday at 10 am Pacific Time | Spring Book Club discussion with author Christie Purifoy!
  » For paid subscribers: Join Christie and I to discuss her beautiful new book, A House To Call Home!
  

• APRIL 29 | Wednesday at 5 pm Pacific Time | Q&A chat about hosting liturgical living gatherings!

  » For paid subscribers: Bring your questions, ideas, experiences…and let’s wrestle through the ins & outs of hosting a liturgical life group in your own neck of the woods.

Fresh Posts & Previous Archives

• FIRST HALF OF APRIL: Festal focus reflections, art, & resources shared
  

• APRIL 23 | Thursday | St. George’s Day
  » Printables: Book of Hours pages & dandelion soda recipe

• APRIL 25 | Saturday | St. Mark’s Day
  » Printables: Ebooklet with nettle risotto recipe & sage shoe spray instructions
  

You can also find this calendar of upcoming events posted in the Village Green

+ April 2026 Calendar & Coloring

The April Almanac includes:

• April calendar page with a selection of holy days, dip-pen illustrations, and links to connect you with more HF resources

• Coloring page featuring my hand-drawn illustrations of April feast emblems

• Print out these goodies (I recommend card-stock for the calendar and regular paper for the coloring page), and see how you can integrate the featured holidays into your existing plans!

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+ Vase of Days

This ‘vase of days’ is designed to help us see April as a bouquet. Each image (hand-painted in gouache) is a prompt: an invitation to look at the holy wonder of these days & how they meet us in our own lives and landscapes.

Build an April bouquet, layer by layer

Head to the Scriptorium to find your April printables:

OUR LADY’S NIGHTCAP (aka, English Bluebell)
Hyacinthoides non-scripta

Symbolism:

• Legend has it that the Blessed Virgin Mary used to tuck her hair into a nightcap of the same color and shape as the Bluebell

• Humility (because of its downward-facing posture - reminiscent of a prayer posture - Our Lady’s Nightcap is a reminder of faithful humility)

• Resilience (since they’re so hardy, surviving so many weather hardships, Bluebells came to represent a robust faithfulness in adversity)

• St. George (traditionally worn on St. George’s Day and used to decorate churches for his fesat)

Head to the Scriptorium to find your April Herbarium print:

Watercress is a traditional green enjoyed during Hocktide, so we’ll dig into this streamside herb a bit this month (Founding Members received some reflections on Watercress, as well as a seed kit, with their Spring box!)

To help us all settle into Eastertide - a season whose shape and traditions have been somewhat obscured over the centuries - let’s look to a Medieval English celebration: Hocktide, the Monday & Tuesday in the second week of Easter (this year, April 13 & 14).

The more we re-discover - and re-imagine these feasts within our modern context - the better we can see the nuance and form in the ongoing celebrations of Eastertide. It’s SO easy, outside of the liturgy, to forget the length of this glorious season.

• Reflections, history, folk traditions, art, and more will be available in the first couple weeks of April

• Paid members will receive a printable cover page and booklet for their liturgical year binders, as well as a peek into how our liturgical living group celebrates this holiday

Pax et bonum,
Kristin