ANST - April Fools

[Mark&Sue]

Tamlin here

Jackie wrote:

> Morning.  Was wondering what the history of this rather blackly humourous
> day is...anyone wanna take a stab at it?
>
> Ulrica the mischevious

A VERY quick search on www revealed.

April Fools Day: An Unsolved History
                    The first of April, some do say,
                    Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
                    But why the people call it so,
                    Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
                    But on this day are people sent
                    On purpose for pure merriment.
                    -- Poor Robin's Almanac (1790)

                    OK, who started it?
                    Did the first Fools come from France, England, Mexico,
Sweden or
                    India? The truth, as in any good mystery, lies hidden in the
shadows of
                    time.

                    Some say that April Fools Day began in many parts of the
world at the
                    same time, in celebration of the spring equinox. Pranks were
a big part
                    of even the most boring equinox parties, everywhere from
Sweden to
                    India.

                    Others argue that the modern April Fool's Day followed the
adoption
                    of a reformed calendar in France circa 1564. In medieval
times, the
                    octave of New Year's began on March 25 with the eight days
of
                    festivities ending on April 1.

                    With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, New Year's
Day
                    was moved from April 1 to January 1. Due to the slowness of
                    "sandal-net" communication back then and general resistance
to
                    change, the January 1 date was not fully accepted for
several years.
                    Those traditionalists who clung to April 1 as New Year's Day
were
                    scoffed at as "fools" and sent fake party invitations and
prank gifts.

                    Widespread observance in England began in the 18th century.
The
                    English, Scots and French introduced the custom to their
colonies in
                    America. One of our forefathers' favorite jokes was to send
someone
                    on a "fool's errand." For example, one might have been asked
to go out
                    and obtain a copy of "The History of Adam's Grandfather," or
bring
                    back some "sweet vinegar."

                    In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long. The second
day is called
                    Taily Day and is dedicated to pranks involving the buttocks.
Taily
                    Day's gift to posterior posterity is the still-hilarious
"Kick Me" sign.

                    The "foolish" tradition is celebrated in Mexico, too, but on
a different
                    day and for different reasons. "El Dia de los Inocentes,"
which is
                    December 28, was set aside as a day for Christians to mourn
Herod's
                    slaughter of innocent children. Over time, the tone of that
"unluckiest of
                    days" has evolved from sadness to good-natured trickery.
Even the
                    media join the fun, often running bogus news stories and
radio reports.

                    We may never learn the true origin of April Fools Day.
However, the
                    deeper question facing us today is, "What's the best gag I
can pull off?"
                    AprilFools.com has some intriguing suggestions.

                    Sources Include: The American Book of Days by Jane M. Hatch;
The World
                    Holiday Book by Anneli Rufus; the Encyclopedia Americana.

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