by David Johnson and Shmuel
Ross
April Fools' Day, sometimes
called All Fools' Day, is one of
the most light-hearted days of
the year. Its origins are
uncertain. Some see it as a
celebration related to the turn
of the seasons, while others
believe it stems from the
adoption of a new calendar.
New Year's Day Moves
Ancient cultures, including those
of the Romans and Hindus,
celebrated New Year's Day on or
around April 1. It closely follows
the vernal equinox (March 20th
or March 21st.) In medieval
times, much of Europe
celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the
beginning of the new year.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII
ordered a new calendar (the
Gregorian Calendar) to replace
the old Julian Calendar. The new
calendar called for New Year's
Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That
year, France adopted the
reformed calendar and shifted
New Year's day to Jan. 1.
According to a popular
explanation, many people either
refused to accept the new date,
or did not learn about it, and
continued to celebrate New
Year's Day on April 1. Other
people began to make fun of
these traditionalists, sending
them on "fool's errands" or
trying to trick them into
believing something false.
Eventually, the practice spread
throughout Europe.
Problems With This Explanation
There are at least two
difficulties with this
explanation. The first is that it
doesn't fully account for the
spread of April Fools' Day to
other European countries. The
Gregorian calendar was not
adopted by England until 1752,
for example, but April Fools' Day
was already well established
there by that point. The second
is that we have no direct
historical evidence for this
explanation, only conjecture,
and that conjecture appears to
have been made more recently.
Constantine and Kugel
Another explanation of the
origins of April Fools' Day was
provided by Joseph Boskin, a
professor of history at Boston
University. He explained that the
practice began during the reign
of Constantine, when a group of
court jesters and fools told the
Roman emperor that they could
do a better job of running the
empire. Constantine, amused,
allowed a jester named Kugel to
be king for one day. Kugel
passed an edict calling for
absurdity on that day, and the
custom became an annual
event.
"In a way," explained Prof.
Boskin, "it was a very serious
day. In those times fools were
really wise men. It was the role
of jesters to put things in
perspective with humor."
This explanation was brought to
the public's attention in an
Associated Press article printed
by many newspapers in 1983.
There was only one catch:
Boskin made the whole thing
up. It took a couple of weeks for
the AP to realize that they'd
been victims of an April Fools'
joke themselves.
Spring Fever
It is worth noting that many
different cultures have had days
of foolishness around the start
of April, give or take a couple of
weeks. The Romans had a
festival named Hilaria on March
25, rejoicing in the resurrection
of Attis. The Hindu calendar has
Holi, and the Jewish calendar
has Purim. Perhaps there's
something about the time of
year, with its turn from winter
to spring, that lends itself to
lighthearted celebrations.
Observances Around the World
April Fools' Day is observed
throughout the Western world.
Practices include sending
someone on a "fool's errand,"
looking for things that don't
exist; playing pranks; and trying
to get people to believe
ridiculous things.
The French call April 1 Poisson
d'Avril, or "April Fish." French
children sometimes tape a
picture of a fish on the back of
their schoolmates, crying
"Poisson d'Avril" when the
prank is discovered.
Source
Http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html
Dont be Fool on this April Fool.hahahaha.
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