When you woke up this morning, one of your first thoughts probably was probably, Will there be a new tax on tacks?. Don’t worry, you’ll know soon enough. But anyway, it’s April (again.)
April is National Poetry Month
It is a cruel month – usually mixing memory with tax payments (hopefully you’ve heard that you have to file your taxes by Wednesday, April 15, this year.) April was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meaning ‘to open‘, or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love or it may come from the word meaning ‘month that used to be second but now is fourth
Please opine upon this as you think about Vice President J.D. Vance and his beard
Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. Small Jewish people usually fly northwards from Miami to spend the holidays with their mishpocha. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.
In some parts of the world, it’s planting time. In other parts, it’s the harvest season. And yet in other places, it’s the sanity that follows March Madness. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again.
Unlike most other non-foolish holidays, the history of April Fool’s Day, sometimes called All Fool’s Day, is not entirely clear. There isn’t a specific “first April Fool’s Day” that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it evolved simultaneously in several cultures from celebrations involving the first day of spring.
The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition dates back to 1582 in France. Before that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, starting on March 25, with the celebrations culminating on April 1. However, with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, moving New Year’s Day to January 1.
Communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. These “backward” folk were labeled as “fools” by the general populace. They were subject to ridicule and often sent on “fool’s errands” or became the butt of other practical jokes.
Over time, this harassment evolved into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The custom eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century and was later introduced to the American colonies by both the English and the French. Thus, April Fool’s Day developed into an international fun fest, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families.
In Scotland, for example, April Fool’s Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body and is called Taily Day. The origin of the “kick me” sign can be traced back to this observance.
Mexico’s counterpart to April Fool’s Day is observed on December 28. Originally, this day was a solemn remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod, but it eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery.
Pranks performed on April Fool’s Day range from the simple (such as saying, “Your shoe’s untied!“) to the elaborate. Setting a roommate’s alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually finishes by yelling to their victim, “April Fool!” In Scotland, it usually ends with sodomy.
Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool’s Day, with some elaborate ones played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. Even the news media gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool’s Day was a fairly detailed documentary about “spaghetti farmers” and how they harvest their crop from spaghetti trees.
Happy April Fools, everybody!
The Haus of Dcaligari 