Poisson d'Avril
April Fool’s Day — a ‘foolish’ day

April Fool’s Day gives one the right to play pranks on others. It has been widely practiced in all walks of life since the old days. How ever, the origins of April Fool’s Day are shrouded in myths. It is thought to have originated in France.

In the sixteenth century, the French celebrated the New Year beginning on 25 March, and the celebration lasted until 1 April, which was designated New Year’s Day. In 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar: New Year’s Day was now on 1 January instead of 1 April.

However, some people were unaware of, or did not believe in, the change of the date and continued to celebrate the New Year on 1 April. Other people played tricks on them, calling them “April Fools”.

The practice continued, and countries now celebrate this “foolish” holiday differently.

In France, the April Fool is called “April Fish”. People like to fool their friends by sticking a paper fish on their friends’ backs. When someone discovers the trick, they yell, “Poisson d’Avril!”

In England, people play tricks only in the morning. If a trick is played on you, you will be called the “gob”, “gawby” or “gobby” being the April Fool.

In Scotland, the day is known “Gowkie Day” or “Hunt the Gowk”. In the Orkney Isles, the day lasts to 2 April, which is called “Taily Day”. On that day, people like to play tricks involving buttocks. The origin of the “Kick Me” sign can be traced to this observance.

In the U.S., Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers on April Fool’s Day. One traditional trick is to point at a friend’s shoe and say, “Your shoelace is untied.”

Though the origin of April Fool’s Day is unknown, practical jokes are now a common practice on the first of April everywhere.

So, enjoy a day of jokes and tricks.

 

 

Quotable quotes Guidelines on how to be a fool “The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658), Spanish philosopher and writer.   “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.” Saul Bellow (1915- ), winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in literature. His first novel, Dangling Man, was pub- lished in 1944.   “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th president of the U.S., regarded as the “Great Emancipator” for his freeing of slaves.   “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself a fool.” William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English drama- tist and poet, considered the greatest English playwright who ever lived.   “The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” James Oppenheim (1882-1932), poet and short story writer. His early literary magazines included The Seven Arts.   “The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.” Mark Twain (1835-1910), humorist and the fore- most American writer of his day.

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