April Fools...

Today is April 1^st, a day celebrated by some and reviled by others. Personally, I have never really liked it, as it's so hard to find a prank that is neither cruel or that raises false expectations, but still works.

But where does this somewhat bizarre tradition come from and where did it start? The short answer is, we don't know, but there are some speculations.

A fairly popular theory is that Chaucer referenced it in his classic Canterbury Tales, where Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox on “Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two ”. Some take this to mean March 32^nd or April first, but it could likely be a translation error with the actual meaning being 32 days after March, or May 2^nd. The jury is definitely out on that one.

However in 1508 the French poet Eloy d'Armeval referred to “poisson d'avril” or Fish of April, which could well be the earliest surviving reference to April Fools Day. This is commonly held to be connected to a calendar change where the new year was placed on January 1^st instead of the old March 25^th. It then became fashionable to play pranks on the fools who held to the old calendar.

In 1686, John Aubrey mentions the first British April Fools Day, calling it “Fooles holy day”, and in 1698 people were fooled to go to the Tower of London to see lions being washed.

In 1769 the London Public Advertiser claimed that it was righteous to punish people who forgot that Noah sent out the pigeon to find land after the flood, by sending them out on a fools errand. Make of that what you will.

This is what we know of the history in a nutshell, but did you know that April Fools Day is celebrated in different ways and even times depending on where you are? Here are some examples.

In the UK and most countries that got their modern culture from there, custom held that April Fools pranks were only acceptable before 12 am. Anyone playing a prank after midday was himself considered the fool.

In Ireland the traditional joke was to trick a person into delivering a hoax letter, and in order to avoid being the fool, they then had to pass on the task to someone else and so on.

April Fools was so important in Poland, and the officials and the media would get so into it that the Polish anti-Turkish alliance with Leopold I of April 1^st, 1683 was backdated to March 31^st just in case no one would take it seriously otherwise.

In Italy, France, Belgium and the french speaking parts of Switzerland and Canada they still often call it April fish. (see above). Apart from the commonplace fake news stories, it was popular to try to attach a paper fish on someones back without them noticing it. Much like the old “kick me” sign.

Finally, in Spain, Hispanic America and the Philippines, the day in question is actually December 28^th, know as Day of the Holy Innocents.

Of course, whether you like the pranking or not is up to you. The most important thing is that no laws are broken, and that no ones feelings are seriously hurt. Try to be safe.

That's that. Join me again next time, and for today, believe nothing!