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April Fools' Day is
always celebrated on
April 1st. It is the
name given to the custom
of playing practical
jokes on friends on that
day, or sending them on
fools errands.
The history of April
Fools' Day, sometimes
called All Fools' Day,
is not clear. There is
no "first April
Fools'
Day" that can be
pinpointed on the
calendar. The closest
point in time that can
be identified as the
beginning of this
tradition was in France
in 1563.
Prior to that year,
the new year was
celebrated for eight
days, beginning on March
25. The celebration
culminated on April 1
and was celebrated in
much the same way as it
is today with parties
and dancing into the
late hours of the night.
In 1582, Pope Gregory
XIII introduced the new
Gregorian Calendar. Ten
days were deleted from
the calendar, so that
October 4, 1582 was
followed by October 15,
1582, and
New Year's Day
was moved to January 1.
One popular story
credits the reform of
the calendar to King
Charles IX (born 1550
AD– died 1574 AD) in
1563. Notice this is
prior to the "Gregorian
calendar" change and the
pope's edict in 1582. It
is known that the
Council of Trent
(1545-1563) did
authorized a calendar
reform in 1545, so it is
possible that King
Charles IX could have
moved
New Year's Day to
January 1 before the
decree was made by Pope
Gregory XIII.
Upon moving the
official
New Year's Day
from April 1 to January
1, there were some
people who hadn't heard
or didn't believe the
change in the date, so
they continued to
celebrate
New Year's Day
on April first. Others
played tricks on them
and called them "April
fools." They were
subject to some
ridicule, and were often
sent on "fools errands"
or were made the butt of
other practical jokes.
In France today, April
first is called "Poisson d'Avril." French
children fool their
friends by taping a
paper fish to their
friends' backs. When
the "young fool"
discovers this trick,
the prankster yells
"Poisson d’Avril!"
(April Fish!)
This harassment
evolved, over time, into
a tradition of
prank-playing on the
first day of April. The
tradition eventually
spread to England and
Scotland in the
eighteenth century. It
was later introduced to
the American colonies of
both the English and
French. Eventually,
April Fools' Day spread
around the world, with
different nationalities
specializing in their
own brand of humor at
the expense of their
friends and families:
-
United States
- Americans play
small tricks on
friends and
strangers alike on
the first of April.
One common trick is
pointing down to a
friend's shoe and
saying, "Your
shoelace is untied."
-
France -
French children fool
their friends by
taping a paper fish
to their backs.
When the young
victim discovers
this trick, the
prankster yells
"Poisson d'Avril!"
(April Fish!)
-
England -
Tricks can be played
only in the morning.
If a trick is played
on you, you are a
"noodle".
-
Scotland -
April Fools' Day is
actually celebrated
for two days and the
custom is known as
"hunting the gowk"
(the cuckoo), and
April fools are
"April gowks". The
second day is
devoted to pranks
involving the
posterior region of
the body. It is
called Taily Day.
The origin of the
"kick me" sign can
be traced to this
observance.
-
Mexico – the
counterpart of April
Fools' Day is
actually observed on
December 28.
Originally, the day
was a sad
remembrance of the
slaughter of the
innocent children by
King Herod. It
eventually evolved
into a lighter
commemoration
involving pranks and
trickery.
-
Portugal -
April Fools' is
celebrated on the
Sunday and Monday
before Lent. The
traditional trick
there is to throw
flour at your
friends.
Practical jokes are a
common practice on April
Fools' Day. Sometimes,
elaborate practical
jokes played on friends
or relatives might last
the entire day. Even
the news media even gets
involved. For instance,
a British short film
once shown on April
Fools' Day was a fairly
detailed documentary
about "spaghetti
farmers" and how they
harvest their crop from
the spaghetti trees.
Whatever the prank, the
trickster usually ends
it by yelling to his
victim, "April Fool!"
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