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.
What where you expecting. That elections were canceled. Lol. April fool
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