As April Ends, We Usher Out the Fools

It’s been another half-activated day. What does that mean? Well, it means that not as much got done as could have been done. Foolishness seemed to prevail and time was lost. Still, there was a workout had, and singing done - and there will be ballet - but that’s later.

Since we are about to leave April, it being the 30th of the month and all, I figured a little something about the beginning of the month might be interesting.

I learned yet another thing from Dictionary.com this glorious morning - the origin of April Fools - or at least, what is the most likely explanation for how it began. And this shall be my tale today.

It seems that way back in the days of the Julian Calendar, the year changed at the end of March, making April 1st, New Year’s Day. When Pope Gregory put his own calendar, the Gregorian Calendar, in place in 1582, the New Year shifted to its present location. However, in France, where this ‘history’ supposedly originated, the news of the new calendar did not get out to all the inhabitants of that fair country, leaving many people still celebrating New Year’s on the 1st of April. Of course, there were also those that simply refused to use the new calendar and went along their merry ways, celebrating on the 1st. This brought ridicule upon their heads and pranks of all sorts began to occur on this day to mock those who had not toed the line when it came to the Pope and his calendar. The tradition of playing tricks has continued ever since.

After having decided that this was going to be my topic for the day, and a fitting one at that, given the close of the month, I’ve just discovered that the above ‘history’ is most likely apocryphal - oh, great.

It would appear that in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales of 1392, reference is made to this day of trickery - which would of course, pre-date the French story by some number of years - and it also appears that there were other references as well.

Oh, well - whatever the origin, it’s funny to think that people, for hundreds of years, have been playing tricks and practical jokes on one and other on the same day, every year - that a day has been set aside just for such pranks.

Humans are funny creatures, really - aren’t they!?