Understanding April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, although not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: like UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool". Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France, and the USA, the jokes last all day.

The origin of April Fools' Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar which it replaced. In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signaled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely. Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called "April Fools" and were taunted by their neighbors. In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah. An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April. A possible reference to April Fools' Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun's Priest's tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd. Read more of April Fools' Day here.

I just want to greet you all
a Happy April Fools' Day
everyone and all!

Be safe!

-sHenG-

Comments

witsandnuts said…
Smart's daily update is about April Fool's history. I received (through SMS) the excerpts almost like this. Let's kick off this month beautifully. =)
Rammyboi said…
tnx for that great info ate shenhg :D
kg said…
oo nga pala april 1 ngayon...totoo ba tng shinare mo sheng? he! he! joke!

i love the month of april, primarily because it's Wendy's birthday month. :)
Sleepless In KL said…
i'm more concerned re: conficker worm that's been rumoured to be unleashed today. oh wait! i have a mac so i'm not really worried. oh well..i'm concerned for my friends anyway ;)
Lantaw said…
good food + great company = perfect day.

maganda ba sa croc farm? planning to visit it next weekend with the kids
Funny greetings.. Happy April Fools Day.. Hehehe, how could someone be happy this day when anyone could be the subject of a foolish trick today.. :)
Maki Cabrera said…
happy april fools day..
BlogusVox said…
Sheng, I sent you a check worth $10,000.00 last week. The bank here informed me you'll be receiving it today.

Happy April Fools Day! : )
RedLan said…
sa atin dito, dec 28, di ba? hehehe. naalala ko noong bata pa ako mahilig ako manloko.
Oman said…
Bawal magpautang ngayon lol.

Happy April Fool's Day too Sheng. :)
Alice said…
Thanks for the info, Sheng. Happy April's Fool Day! :D
Anonymous said…
i just want no pies touching my face today! LOL
Garando said…
One of the days I look forward to every year!! *grin*
katcarneo said…
This is a very informative post, Sheng. My April Fool's day was quite ordinary, and my students are all too young (and too "beginner") to understand this so-called holiday that I couldn't tell any joke, nor did anyone play a trick on me.
escape said…
hahaha... hindi ko to alam ah. it's as popular as any other holidays.

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