The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. (American writer Mark Twain)
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What is April Fools Day and what are its origins? It is commonly believed that in medieval France, New Year was celebrated on 1 April. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, changing New Year to 1 January. With no modern communications, news travelled slowly and new ideas were often questioned. Many people did not hear of the change, others chose to ignore it, while some merely forgot. These people were called fools. Invitations to non-existent ‘New Year’ parties were sent and other practical jokes were played. This jesting evolved over time into a tradition of playing pranks on 1 April. The custom eventually spread to England and Scotland, and it was later transported across the Atlantic to the American colonies of the English and the French. April Fools Day has now developed into an international festival of fun, with different nationalities celebrating the day in a special ways.
In France and Italy, if someone plays a trick on you, you are the ‘fish of April’. By the month of April fish have only just hatched and are therefore easy to catch. Children stick paper fish to their friends’ backs and chocolate fish are found in the shops.
In Scotland, April Fools Day lasts for two days! The second day is called ‘Taily Day’ and tricks on this day involve the bottom (or the ‘tail’ in informal speech). Often a sign saying ‘kick me’ is stuck onto someone’s back without them knowing.
In Spain and Mexico, similar celebrations take place on 28 December. The day is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by Herod in his search for the baby Jesus. It eventually changed to a lighter commemoration of innocence involving pranks and trickery.
Today, Americans and the British play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on 1 April. A common trick is to point to a friend's shoe and say ‘Your shoelace is untied.’ When they look down, they are laughed at. Schoolchildren might tell a friend that school has been cancelled. A bag of flour might be balanced on the top of a door so that when the ‘victim’ opens the door, the flour empties over their head. Sometimes the media get involved. Once, a British short film was shown on April Fools Day about spaghetti farmers and how they harvest their crop from spaghetti trees!
Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and not meant to harm anyone. The best trick is the one where everyone laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke has been played.
Two British policemen were sent to investigate a glowing flying saucer on 31 March, the day before April Fool’s Day. When the policemen arrived at a field in Surrey, they saw a small figure wearing a silver space suit walking out of a spacecraft. Immediately the police ran off in the opposite direction. Reports revealed that the alien was in fact a midget, and the flying saucer was a hot air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records.
Branson had planned to land the balloon in London’s Hyde Park on 1 April. However, a wind change had brought him down in a Surrey field. The police were bombarded with phone calls from terrified motorists as the balloon drifted over the motorway. One lady was so shocked by the incident that she didn’t realise that she was standing naked in front of her window as she was describing the UFO to a radio station.
to be asked a lot of questions.
commemoration (n): the act of remembering something that happened in the past, often through an official day.
the total amount collected of a plant such as a grain, fruit or vegetables grown in large amounts by farmers.
a belief, principle or way of acting that people in a particular social group have followed for a long time.
to move slowly in the air.
to develop or change slowly over a period of time.
to physically injure or hurt someone or something.
the time of year when farmers bring in their crops from the fields.
the action of an egg breaking in order for a young animal to come out.
to intentionally not listen or give attention to someone.
something that is said or done to amuse others.
of or from the Middle Ages, from about 1000 AD to 1500 AD.
only, just.
a very small person.
having no clothes on.
trick.
a trick that is meant to be fun.
the memory of something that happened in the past.
the action of killing many people or animals, often unfairly or cruelly in a war.
very frightened.
a belief, principle or way of acting which people in a particular social group have followed for a long time.
an unidentified flying object (thought to be a spacecraft from another planet).
Have you ever been involved in an April Fool's Day prank? What do you think of this article? Send us your texts and/or opinions.
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Roshita Abdul Razak writes '1 April reminds me of April Fool’s Day in 2004. On that April Fool's day I was at the library with my friends doing some group discussion. Around 10.40 a.m. we heard the ringing sound telling everyone that the fire alarm was on and everyone should move out, but unfortunately it was April Fool's day so we were looking at each others faces saying, 'Ahh!! It is just an April Fool trick' ... and nobody left their seats. The discussion continued until one of the librarians came to us saying that there was a fire in another part of the building and everybody should evacuate the building immediately. Just imagine if the librarian had not come to our rescue … April Fool's day can sometimes harm you unintentionally …'
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Borgia Hounkpatin writes: 'This article reminded me what usually happens every 1 April in my country. Maybe it is not quite the same. Here in Benin we usually speak of the "fish of April", and it lasts from morning to 12 a.m.. The 1 April is a very special day because of tricks that can sometimes lead to real problems, so you have to be careful. On that morning a friend can ask you for money, clothes, shoes or something else to borrow. If you do not remember the "fish of April", after he takes the wanted things from you, he can say the 'fish of April' and it becomes his own and you will never get it back.
Our newspapers also write some articles regarding events that cannot be proved, and by learning those issues you become the 'fish of April'. Another way is that you can be told that your relatives who travelled are back. And by believing it you are a "fish of April".
Over all the 1 April in Benin is a pleasant day, but if you are planning to come here, remember all this. It is in your interest.'
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The Museum of Hoaxes
Wikipedia: April Fool's Day
Yahoo directory: April Fool
New York Times: article & links
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