Tuesday April 3, 2012
April Fool!
By NITHYA SIDHHU
New Year’s Day was once celebrated on April 1. Really!
APRIL Fool’s Day has just passed. Apart from the laughter, there’s lots we can learn from this day traditionally set aside for tomfoolery, practical jokes and hoaxes. Yes, it’s a day for comic relief.
On April 1, you can pull a friend’s leg, kid your neighbour, play a prank on your lecturer, send your son on a fool’s errand and hopefully, if they have a good sense of humour, your jokes will be taken in the true spirit of the day. So, jest all you want, make someone a complete fool and be the comedian of the day if you care for it. It’s April Fool’s Day, after all!
Reading up on the history of this day, I discovered that the celebration of April Fool’s Day began around 1582 in France when Charles IX introduced the Gregorian Calendar. As a result, New Year’s Day was moved from April 1 to the present Jan 1.
But due to ignorance, some people continued to celebrate April 1 as New Year’s Day – it was this group who were labelled as “fools” by everyone else.
Getting cone-d: Was anybody actually taken in by this April Fool’s prank of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? Practical jokes would be played on them or they would be sent on “fools’ errands” – for instance, be issued invitations for parties that did not exist.
Further, those who were fooled were called poisson d’avril or “April fish” – because they behaved like the young naive fishes which were easily caught. Sometimes, even paper fishes were pasted on their backs – all in the name of a good joke.
While you may be aware of the tomfoolery associated with April Fool’s Day, are you aware that if you were in England, such a joke can only be played on you in the morning?
History has it that if play a prank on an Englishman after noon, you will bring bad luck upon yourself. The way I look at it, this clearly means that all practical jokes should have their limits.
I must also share a related story told about the Scottish people. For them, April Fool’s Day is “devoted to spoofs involving the buttocks and as such is called Taily Day. The butts of these jokes are therefore known as April “Gowk”, which is another name for the cuckoo bird.
The origins of the “Kick Me” sign can be traced back to this Scottish observance. Interesting, right?
As a teacher, I remember once when a prefect knocked on the door of the classroom I was teaching in to inform me that the principal wanted to see me immediately.
Naturally I believed her and traipsed dutifully down to his office only to find the principal giving me a blank stare.
When I went back to my class, loud calls of “April Fool” greeted me. I must admit, I could only smile gamely. You can’t get angry with your students on this day!
So, if you had a prank played on you by your colleagues, friends, or family members – please be a good sport. Take it in the spirit of the day and laugh along. Otherwise, you’ll only be known as a spoilsport.
By the way, did you know that female teachers are the least liked people in the world, after dentists?
Did you believe me? Sorry, I said it in sport and was just kidding. April Fool!
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