April
Fool's Day is this Friday. It is not a day that is recognized as a
national holiday in any country. It is still a very important day for
people who love to play practical jokes. To these individuals, this
day is more important than any other on one the calendar.
There
was a time when April Fool's Day did not exist. What a boring time in
the world. I wonder if it got started when all practical jokers in
the world got together. They probably decided to create an
unrecognized holiday to celebrate their favorite pastime. They
probably did it as a practical joke.
History
One
of the first recorded connections between foolishness and April 1 is
found in “The Canterbury Tales” by Chaucer written in 1392. In
this book, the cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox. Sounds right. I
just have images of Chaucer laughing as he wrote this thinking how
ridiculous it sounded and yelling “April Fools.”
In
the 1500s, a Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote about an April Fool
holiday where a nobleman would send his servants on foolish errands.
I bet the servants last laugh as the nobleman ate his food and did not
know what the fooled servants had done to it.
During
the late 1600s, many people in England were annually tricked on April
1 to visit the Tower of London believing they would see lions being
washed. Makes you wonder why washing a lion would be such a big
attraction. These were probably people also believed they would be
to purchase the London Bridge. Think about that one for a minute.
APRIL
FOOLS DAY CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
United
Kingdom
A
study in the 1950s discovered that shouting “April Fools” after a
playing practical joke on April 1 is standard in the UK and around
the world. In most countries, the jokes must be done before midday.
They believe if the practical joke is done after midday, the person
doing the joke is the April fool. I can state with conviction that we
in the practical joke playing community refuse to acknowledge time
limitations on playing practical jokes on April 1.
Ireland
In
the Emerald Isle, it is a tradition to give a letter to a person and
tell them it's important and must be given to a specific person. When
the letter is delivered, it will read “send the fool further.”
The person will then say the letter must be taken to another person.
I guess this is a tradition that has been happening for a long time.
If that's the case, how stupid is the person who falls for it? How
can you not know this is being done to you? I bet they could get
these people to watch lion washing at the Tower of London if they
really tried. I'm sure this joke has been made more difficult with
the development of texting and email.
Italy,
France, Switzerland, Canada, and Belgium
In
these countries, April fools day is referred to as “April Fish.”
During the day, people attempt to attach a paper fish to a person's
back without being noticed. This is pretty sad. Don't they know
attaching a sign that says “kick me” on a person's back is a much
better practical joke?
Norway,
Denmark, and Sweden
In
these countries, April Fools' Day is a media event. Most news media
outlets will publish approximately one false story. On April 1;
newspapers publish the false story as a first-page article.
Newspapers in the United States do that too often. It's almost like
some U.S. newspapers celebrate Norwegian, Dane and Swede April Fools
Day 365 days a year.
Poland
This
is a country that loves April Fools Day. In Poland, the day is filled
with hoaxes by people, media, public institutions and more. It is so
popular that serious activities are avoided during this day. I wonder
if sales of fake kielbasa and perogies increase on this day?
In
1957, a British television news program broadcast a three-minute
story about a large spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. The
story said this was a result of the disappearance of the spaghetti
weevil. It provided video of Swiss families taking pasts off
spaghetti trees. It had a huge response. People were calling the BBC
and asking how to grow a spaghetti tree. The BBC told them to put a
sprig of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best.
I don't
believe this for a minute. I tried to grow a spaghetti tree, and it
didn't work. (April Fools!)
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