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Traditions, April Fool

April Fools' Day is a purely secular holiday celebrated on April 1st and is a grand occasion for all practical jokers!. The origins of April Fools' Day go back to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, when the New Year was moved (again) and fixed as January 1st.

The old New Year had been on March 25th and was celebrated with a week of partying, ending on April 1st. Many people did not come round to the new dates for some time and these people, whether they forgot or simply refused to come round to the new ideas, were ridiculed by being sent silly gifts and invitations to non existent parties and called April Fools.

April Fools Day is the delight of children throughout the British Isles. It is an excuse to play practical jokes, the best ones being the old ones, as they say. 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. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced to this observance.

There was also the medieval figure of the Fool, the symbolic patron saint of the day. Fools became prominent in late medieval Europe, practicing their craft in a variety of settings such as town squares and royal courts. Their distinctive dress remains well known today: multicoloured robe, horned hat, and sceptre and bauble.

One of the earliest examples of an April Fool's Day prank was recorded in Drake's News Letter in 1698. Cards were sent out inviting Londoners to come see the washing of the lions at the Tower of London on April 1st. Of course, the lions had long been removed from the Tower, as was discovered by those who showed up to see them be given a bath. In the years to come, Londoners frequently played this prank on unsuspecting visitors from the countryside. In 1860 the prank was again repeated on a large scale.

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