April fool!
Don Coldsmith, Syndicated Columnist
Monday, April 6, 2009
LAST MONTH, thanks to questions about how February became the shortest month, I was forced into some interesting calendar research.
Ever wonder how April Fool’s Day started? We seldom do wonder about such things. They are just there, included in the earliest memories for most of us, accepted as part of our existence. There are a lot of truisms and partly true traditions, as well as some which amount to pure superstition. the problem is to sort them out.
For instance, if a black cat crosses your path, is bad luck sure to follow? Reactions vary from “of course not,” to “maybe,” to “almost certainly.” There are too many variables. If you’re driving, for instance, and swerve to miss the cat, you might lose control and hit the semi in the other lane. In such a case, the black cat might be a factor almost as hazardous as a cell phone in the driver’s ear. There’s a lot of that going around, too.
Or, there was once a solid belief that getting your feet wet would almost certainly result in a head cold. Everybody’s grandma knew that for fact. Any basis for such belief? Not really. No direct anatomical connection between the nose and the big toe has ever been located. Still, in bad weather, an exposure to cold produces a certain amount of stress, which interferes with our defense mechanisms. So, here’s another definite “maybe.”
But, last week we celebrated the strange custom of April Fool’s Day, a time which seems to be based around pure and undiluted silliness, enjoyed by all. Well, maybe not all. Nearly every year, there will be somebody who doesn’t get the word and when they realize they’ve been “April Fooled,” become disgruntled. (I’m not certain what “disgruntled” means — the process of being no longer gruntled, I presume, but it’s a wonderful word in the context of April Fool).
Many newspapers, especially on college campuses, run a special edition. Some fabricated stories about the discovery of dinosaur fossils in the History department, among the ivy-covered professors, maybe, or the Dean of Students running off with the cheerleaders’ coach. Some standard newspapers even have an April Food edition.
A few years ago, somebody published a story about the purchase of the Liberty Bell by a fast food chain. It was to tour the country, on display at each Taco Bell outlet, as a patriotic emblem. A lot of people actually took this seriously, especially in Philadelphia, were there was much outrage. But a lot of people had a good laugh and probably another taco to celebrate April Fool.
Speaking of which, back to the question: When, where and why, April Fool? In many cultures, the new year’s calendar has begun with the spring awakening. I’ve written about it before. It’s all connected to the calendar. Any agricultural economy has a big stake in the coming of the growing season and many have started with the spring awakening as the start of the new year in March, with April the second month.
The Romans, under Julius Caesar, changed to the “Julian” calendar, with the winter solstice as the beginning of the new year. Most of Europe continued to regard March as the beginning of the year, the celebration ending on April 1 in a big New Year’s party.
Our present calendar, based on the Roman, was adopted by France in 1564, the first nation outside Rome’s influence. Some still wanted to celebrate on April 1 and gained the reputation of “April Fish.” This led to (usually) harmless jokes and pranks on relatives and friends. The custom spread to other countries. The concept of silliness too celebrate the end of winter has a strong appeal.
In English-speaking countries, the term April Fool emerged to describe the victim of the pranks. In Scotland, he’s an “April Gowk.”
The Roman church, where our Gregorian calendar, a solar calendar, was devised, continued to operate partly on a lunar calendar, based on phases of the moon. That’s why Easter moves around, while Christmas is always on Dec. 25. It also provides a puzzling side note. In Portugal, Mexico and India, the Sunday and Monday before Lent, which moves around, are celebrated as All Fools’ Day. Well — April Fool!
See you down the road.
Author and columnist Don Coldsmith lives in Emporia.
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
Speaking of...
As a member of Emporia Open For Business, I would like to say that we are conceding the election to Clean Air Emporia.
APRIL FOOLS! (8 days late)
April 8, 2009 at 3:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )