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 Unlike
most of the other nonfoolish
holidays, the history of
April Fool's Day, sometimes
called All Fool's Day, is
not totally clear.
April Fools' Day or All
Fools' Day, though not a
holiday in its own right,
is a notable day celebrated
in many countries on April
1. The day is marked by
the commission of hoaxes
and other practical jokes
of varying sophistication
on friends, enemies and
neighbors, or sending them
on fools' errands, the aim
of which is to embarrass
the gullible.
There really wasn't a "first
April Fool's Day" that
can be pinpointed on the
calendar. Some believe it
sort of evolved simultaneously
in several cultures at the
same time, from celebrations
involving the first day
of spring.
The commonly accepted origin
of April Fool's Day involves
changes in the calendar.
At one time, the New Year
celebration began on March
25 and ended on April 1.
However, in 1582, King Charles
IX adopted the Gregorian
calendar and accepted the
beginning of the new year
as January 1. Those who
refused to acknowledge the
new date or simply forgot
received foolish gifts and
invitations to nonexistent
parties. The butt of such
a prank was known as a "poisson
d'avril" or "April
fish."
Pranks performed on April
Fool's Day range from the
simple, (such as saying,
"Your shoe's untied!),
to the elaborate. Setting
a roommate's alarm clock
back an hour is a common
gag. Whatever the prank,
the trickster usually ends
it by yelling to his victim,
"April Fool!"
Practical jokes are a common
practice on April Fool's
Day. Sometimes, elaborate
practical jokes are played
on friends or relatives
that last the entire day.
The news media even gets
involved. For instance,
a British short film once
shown on April Fool's Day
was a fairly detailed documentary
about "spaghetti farmers"
and how they harvest their
crop
April Fool's Day is a "for-fun-only"
observance. Nobody is expected
to buy gifts or to take
their "significant
other" out to eat in
a fancy restaurant. Nobody
gets off work or school.
It's simply a fun little
holiday, but a holiday on
which one must remain forever
vigilant, for he may be
the next April Fool!
Few
quotes related to April
Fool's Day
•
It's better to keep
your mouth shut and be thought
a fool than to open it and
leave no doubt. --Mark Twain
•
However big the fool,
there is always a bigger
fool to admire him. -- Nicolas
Boileau-Despraux
•
[Politicians] never
open their mouths without
subtracting from the sum
of human knowledgeW. --
Thomas Reed
•
The ultimate result
of shielding men from the
effects of folly, is to
fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer
•
Let us be thankful
for the fools. But for them
the rest of us could not
succeed. -- Mark Twain
•
A man always blames
the woman who fools him.
In the same way he blames
the door he walks into in
the dark. --Henry Louis
Mencken
•
A common mistake
that people make when trying
to design something completely
foolproof is to underestimate
the ingenuity of complete
fools.
--Douglas Adams
•
I have great faith
in fools - self-confidence,
my friends call it. --Edgar
Allan Poe
•
Suppose the world
were only one of God's jokes,
would you work any the less
to make it a good joke instead
of a bad one? --George Bernard
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