April Fools Day is tomorrow. Go ahead and have some fun!
The uncertain origins of a foolish day by David Johnson and
Shmuel Ross
April Fools'
Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light-hearted
days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration
related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the
adoption of a new calendar.
New Year's Day Moves
Ancient
cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year's
Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March
20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the
Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.
In 1582, Pope
Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar)
to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day
to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the
reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular
explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not
learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other
people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's
errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false.
Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.
Problems With This Explanation
There are at least two difficulties with this explanation.
The first is that it doesn't fully account for the spread of April Fools' Day
to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was
not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools' Day was
already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no
direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that
conjecture appears to have been made more recently.
Constantine and Kugel
Another explanation of the origins of April Fools' Day was
provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He
explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when
a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a
better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named
Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on
that day, and the custom became an annual event.
"In a way," explained Prof. Boskin, "it was a
very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of
jesters to put things in perspective with humor."
This explanation was brought to the public's attention in an
Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one
catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to
realize that they'd been victims of an April Fools' joke themselves.
Spring Fever
It is worth noting that many different cultures have had
days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks.
The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the
resurrection of Attis. The Hindu
calendar has Holi, and the
Jewish calendar has Purim.
Perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to
spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.
Observances Around the World
April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world.
Practices include sending someone on a "fool's errand," looking for
things that don't exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe
ridiculous things.
The French call April 1 Poisson d'Avril, or "April
Fish." French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of
their schoolmates, crying "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is
discovered.
