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History
of April Fool's Day
What
is April Fools?
April
Fool's Day is celebrated on the first day of
April. It is the name given to the custom of
playing practical jokes on friends on that
day, or sending them on fools errands. It is
also referred to as All Fools Day.
Why
April 1st?
The
history of April Fool's Day started with a
change in the calendar regarding what day is
celebrated for the New Year. The old
"New Year's Day" was actually
celebrated on April 1st until it ultimately
moved to January 1st. As word traveled
slowly in the old world, many people did not
believe this shift in the calendar and
continued to celebrate the new year on April
1st. Those in the know referred to these
people as April Fools!
How
did it start?
The closest point in time that can be
identified as the beginning of this
tradition was in France in 1563. Prior
to that year, the new year was celebrated
for eight days, beginning on March 25.
The celebration culminated on April 1
and was celebrated in much the same way as
it is today with parties and dancing into
the late hours of the night.
In
1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the new
Gregorian Calendar. Ten days were deleted
from the calendar, so that October 4, 1582
was followed by October 15, 1582, and New
Year's Day was moved to January 1. One
popular story credits the reform of the
calendar to King Charles IX (born 1550 AD–
died 1574 AD) in 1563. Notice this is prior
to the "Gregorian calendar" change
and the pope's edict in 1582. It is known
that the Council of Trent (1545-1563) did
authorized a calendar reform in 1545, so it
is possible that King Charles IX could have
moved New Year's Day to January 1 before the
decree was made by Pope Gregory XIII.
Upon moving the official New Year's Day from
April 1 to January 1, there were some people
who hadn't heard or didn't believe the
change in the date, so they continued to
celebrate New Year's Day on April first.
Others played tricks on them and
called them "April fools." They
were subject to some ridicule, and were
often sent on "fools errands" or
were made the butt of other practical jokes.
The
tradition continues
In
France today, April first is called
"Poisson d'Avril." French
children fool their friends by taping a
paper fish to their friends' backs. When
the "young fool" discovers this
trick, the prankster yells "Poisson
d’Avril!" (April Fish!)
April
Fools Day - planning resources
A
little planning and preparation can go a
long way to coordinate your best April Fools
gags and pranks.
Source:
http://www.april-fools-tricks.com/History_of_April_Fools.htm
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