Today, this columnist is giving everyone a “heads up” by warning to watch out for the pranksters and jokers and don’t be “fooled” tomorrow (Friday). It’s April Fool’s Day!
It’s been an annual custom on this day to play practical jokes on each other, trying to fool someone into thinking what is said is the truth but really it’s not. After the jokester says his story, and the unsuspecting listener falls for the story as being true, the jokester then has the pleasure of shouting “April Fool!”
I must admit many times I have fallen for an untrue story on this day, as a youngster and even as an adult. It does make a person feel pretty foolish. It has made me wonder just how this so called special “fooling” day got started. It has been celebrated for several centuries, in many countries and in different cultures. Some believe it dates back to the late 1500s when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. It seems the Julian calendar stated the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1 and the Gregorian calendar stated the new year began January 1. Some of the people of those times were slow to catch on to the new calendar changes and would continue to celebrate the new year from the last week in March through April 1. These people became the laughing stock of others, and were termed as being April Fools! The April Fools were degraded by having paper drawings of fish placed on their backs, referring to them as April Fish to symbolize a young April fish that was easily caught. The person was termed as being gullible or easily fooled.
Another thought of how April Fool’s Day began was tied to the first day of spring, when Mother Nature would fool people with the unpredictable and changing weather. In Scotland during the 18th century, April Fool’s Day was when people would send others out to hunt for birds that did not exist, like Cuckoo birds. If people did go on this hunt, they were termed as being fools. Fake tails were pinned on the fooled hunters or a “kick me” sign was placed on them. This may be how our term, “going on a wide goose chase” was started, and maybe also be how the game, “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” began.
WithUkraine in the world news, it is timely that in Ukraine April Fool’s Day is an official public holiday. Odessa, Ukraine, celebrates April 1 with parades, festivals and concerts.
In more recent years, April Fool’s Day jokes have been played on the public by the news media in announcing untrue funny stories and later making the announcement “April Fools!” In 1992, NPR radio ran a story with an actor speaking as former President Nixon making an announcement he would be running for President once again. Even a fast food restaurant fooled the public in 1996, when Taco Bell announced they were purchasing Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and planned to rename it Taco Liberty Bell.
Try not to be April Fooled tomorrow like many people have been through the centuries.
Reader Comments(0)