(story to be published in tomorrow’s issue, March 29)
The first of April is recognised as a day of pranks not only in the United States, but also in France, Germany, Great Britain and Romania. In India, the feast of Huli occurs in March. The final day of Huli is March 31, and is traditionally celebrated by acts of mischief. In France, a fool is sometimes called a “poisson d’Avril” (April fish). In Scotland, a fool is called an “April gowk” or “April cuckoo.” April Fools is also celebrated in some Latin American countries, such as Peru and Colombia. It is celebrated on December 28, hence its name is not “April Fools,” but “Dia de los Inocentes” (The Candids’ Day). The pranks are the same. “The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.” – said American writer Mark Twain. How do you think April Fools’ Day originated? Did some joker in biblical times decide to switch the frankincense and the myrrh? Was there a historic epidemic of spring fever-tomfoolery in a tiny Finnish town in the early1800s? Did a New Yorker in 1910 find a cockroach in his coffee cup and decide to recreate the experience for his officemate, thereby sparking a famous April 1 lawsuit? In a convincing testimonial to the saying that truth is stranger than fiction, we’ll tell you the story, or at least present the most viable theory, of how April Fools’ Day came to be. Once upon a time, back in 16th-century France, before computers, people celebrated New Year’s Day on March 25, the advent of spring. It was a festive time. They partied steadily until April 1. In 1564, when the calendar reformed and became Gregorian, King Charles IX proclaimed, perhaps pompously, that New Year’s Day should be celebrated on January 1 instead of in the spring. Diehard conservatives resisted the change (or perhaps didn’t hear about it due to the absence of e-mail) and continued to celebrate New Year’s from March 25 to April 1. During this period of spring festivity, the more flexible French mocked the rigid revelers by sending them foolish gifts and invitations to non-existent parties. The victim of an April Fools’ Day prank was called a “poisson d’Avril,” or an “April fish,” because at that time of year, the sun was leaving the zodiacal sign of Pisces. April Fools’ Day hit its stride (avoiding the banana peel) in England in the 18th century, and was brought to colonial America by the English, Scottish, and French. No fooling!