does any on know the origens of april fools day?

Question

does any on know the origens of april fools day?

Answer 1

The common explanation that April Fool's Day was related to an earlier tradition of celebrating New Year's Day on April 1 is roughly but not exactly correct.

First, the shift to observing January 1 as New Year's Day (as had been done by the Romans under the Roman calendar), was NOT the result of the promulgation of the Gregorian calendar. That shift was well underway before this --beginning around 1450 and mostly completed by 1600 (though is some places, like Great Britain, the official shift to a January 1 New Year was done to make way for the change, later that year [1752], to the Gregorian calendar), and various places and groups (esp Eastern Orthodox) that did not adopt the Gregorian calendar till much later, if at all, DID switch to a January 1 New Year.

Second, there were actually SEVERAL different days observed as "New Year's Day" in various times and places in medieval Europe (see list in sources: Wikipedia: 'New Year'), all connected with important feast days of the church. (Note it was NOT, as some have suggested, derived from pagan systems. True, various cultures, the world over, have traditions of beginning their years either in connection with the winter solstice [beginning of lengthening of days!] or the SPRING equinox [life returns!], but that does NOT mean Christians simply adopted one or more pagan traditions.)

Third, to be precise, April 1 was NEVER "New Year's Day" per se. It was, however, the eighth and LAST day of New Year's celebrations that took place in many parts of Europe, beginning on March 25. The beginning of the calendar on March 25 was, in fact, the MAIN rival to a January 1 New Year's. (January 1 as the "eighth day of Christmas" was the day on which Jesus' would have been circumcised -- a feast day.) The importance of this day was that it was Annunciation Day, that is, the day on which the announcement to Mary of the coming birth of Jesus was celebrated... since, of course, this was nine months before Christmas Day. Given the key importance of Christmas in Christian celebration, as well as the growing importance of Mary in medieval Christianity it is scarcely surprising that this day held such prominence.

From here on, the explanations already offered are basically correct, or at least the most likely theory. That is, the shift in many places from the most common alternative New Year's to a January 1 New Year's -- a shift that, as noted, began in the mid 15th century-- caused the LAST day of that older New Year's Day festivities to become a time of pranks and practical jokes. It is possible that other ancient traditions of that time of year played a role in these practices, but even then, the calendar change seems to have played the largest part.

Answer 2

Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

Answer 3

April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends and neighbours, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. In some countries, April Fool's jokes (also called "April fools") are only made before midday. It is widely celebrated on the Internet.

The origin of this custom has been much disputed, and many theories have been suggested, e.g. that it is a farcical commemoration of Christ being sent from Ananus to Caiaphas, from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate, the crucifixion having taken place about the 1st of April.

What seems certain is that it is in some way or other a relic of those once universal festivities held at the vernal equinox, which, beginning on old New Year's day, the 25th of March, ended on the 1st of April.

It has been suggested that Europe derived its April-fooling from the French. France was one of the first nations to make January 1 officially New Year's Day (which it already was popularly), by decree of Charles IX. This was in 1564, even before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar (See Julian start of the year). Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair game for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April. French and Dutch references from 1508 and 1539 respectively describe April Fool's Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April.

Though the 1st of April appears to have been anciently observed in Great Britain as a general festival, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being there, as it is in most lands, a term of contempt. In France the person fooled is known as poisson d'avril. This has been explained from the association of ideas arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the zodiacal sign of the fish. A far more natural explanation would seem to be that the April fish would be a young fish and therefore easily caught.

The Dutch celebrate the 1st of April for other reasons. In 1572, the Netherlands were ruled by Spain's King Phillip II. Roaming the region were Dutch rebels who called themselves Geuzen, after the French "gueux", meaning beggars. On April 1, 1572, the Geuzen seized the small coastal town of Den Briel. This event was also the start of the general civil rising against the Spanish in other cities in the Netherlands. General Alva of the Spanish army could not prevent the uprising. Bril is the Dutch word for glasses, so on April 1, 1572, "Alva lost his glasses". Dutch people find this joke so hilarious they still commemorate the first of April.

Chaucer's story, the Nun's Priest's Tale, written c.1400, takes place on March 32; that is, April 1. Chanticleer and the Fox is a story of two

Answer 4

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