Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Ripsnort on April 01, 2002, 07:54:11 AM
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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. 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 closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this
tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was
celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration
culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX,
the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was
moved to January 1.
However, communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people
did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the
new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled
as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools
errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes.
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. April Fool's Day thus developed into an
international fun fest, so to speak, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor
at the expense of their friends and families.
In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is actually celebrated for two days. 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's counterpart of April Fool's 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.
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 from the spaghetti trees.
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!
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. -- 1 Cor 1:27
However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him. -- Nicolas
Boileau-Despréaux
[Politicians] never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.
-- Thomas Reed
He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks. -- François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools. --
Herbert Spencer
Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly, better than wise people for their wisdom. --
Elizabeth Gaskell
Looking foolish does the spirit good. -- John Updike
Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. -- Mark Twain
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. -- William Blake
A fool must now and then be right by chance. -- Cowper
It is better to be a fool than to be dead. -- Stevenson
The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. -- Mark
Twain