April Fools' Day

It is said that when people pull pranks on one another it is just another way of saying that they care. Try telling that to someone on April Fool's Day after they have just been embarrassed in front of a room full of people.

Sometimes referred to "All Fools' Day," April 1st is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. While its origins are uncertain, there are some theories and traditions associated with April Fool’s Day. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems off of the adoption of a new calendar.

Folk stories describe April Fool’s Day as a day people are sent on impossible tasks in which most were done in spring and revolve around love. Even the most reasonable people go crazy and behave in a silly manor when they fall in love, thus April Fool’s Day is often associated with romantic craziness and fooling around. The custom of shouting “April Fools” after a prank was pulled was only brought to the United States by English settlers in the early 1600’s.

April Fools' Day activities span the Western world and 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.

• In France they call April 1st Poisson d'Avril, or "April Fish." French children attempt to tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, yelling "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is finally discovered. It is said that in France April has the best fishing which is where it might have started but no one is sure. Chocolate fish are even sold in candy stores for the April Fools’ Day occasion.
• In England they refer to April 1^st as "All Fools Day," but while all the names differ, they originated from the “Feast of Fools” which was a popular medieval festival. During the festival, social roles were reversed and rules were deliberately broken.
  
• In Mexico and Spain, April Fool’s Day is actually on December 28^th and called the Day of the Holy Innocents.

While April Fool's Day is supposed to consist of light-hearted pranks and jokes, sometimes people take the prank so far that some people have developed a fear of the day. Aphrilophobia is the fear of April Fool’s Day. Many of the fears are associated with social phobias because they pertain to being embarrassed in public. So don't be an April Fool! While April 1st is the perfect excuse to catch your friends, family and teachers off guard, make sure it is all in good fun and that no one gets hurt!

April Fools Day Folklore

April Fools Day – April 1 – is right around the corner. Although it is not a legal holiday it is a day of jokes, pranks and foolish merriment. Celebrated around the world, its actual origins aren’t clear. Some say that the initial Julian (Roman) calendar marked March 25-April 1 as the first week of the new year, in keeping with the arrival of spring. The Gregorian calendar rearranged the starting point of the new year and those who continued to observe the Julian new year were, it was said, fools.

Historically, April Fools’ Day is referenced in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392) story, “Nuns Priest’s Tale”. It was on the 32^nd day of March (April 1) that a fox tricked Chauntecleer. The Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote in 1539 of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on April 1. During the Middle Ages, the week long extravaganza of tom foolery was still observed in many European countries.

In New Zealand, UK, Australia and South Africa the jokes and pranks stop at noon. Those who continue to play jokes and pull pranks are called April Fools. In fact, it is common for newspapers in the UK to run an April Fool front page in the morning edition only. Elsewhere, the jesting lasts all day.

For fun, here is a partial list of how/when other countries celebrate foolishness.

· Iran: On Norwez (Persian New Year) which falls on the first or second day of April people play jokes on each other on the 13^th day of celebration which is known as Sizdah Bedar and dates back to 536 B.C.

· Korea: The first snowy day of the year was a time for the royal family and their attendants to fool one another regardless of their status. The pranks were benevolent.

· Scotland: Hunt-the-Gowk Day ("gowk" is Gaelic for a foolish person) took place on April 1. The game involved the delivery of a message requesting help. The recipient would explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this person with an identical message, with the same result.