April Fools’ Day: A Historical Perspective –compiled by Dr.Kesiraju Ramprasad
April Fools’ Day: A Historical Perspective –compiled by Dr.Kesiraju Ramprasad
APRIL FOOLS DAY sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new Calendar. Now it became a customary practices range from simple practical jokes played on friends, family, and coworkers to elaborate media hoaxes concocted for mass consumption.
New Year’s Day Moves
The Ancient Cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the Vemal Equinoxes (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.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392), the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is set Syn March begin thirty days and two. Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, Syn March was gon.Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. 2 May, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia , which took place in 1381. Readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean “32 March”, i.e. 1 April In Chaucer’s tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.
In 1508, French poet Eloy d’Amervall referred to a poisson d’avril (April fool, literally “April fish”), a possible reference to the holiday.] In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on 1 April.[]In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the holiday as “Fooles holy day”, the first British reference. On 1 April 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to “see the Lions washed”
In 1582 Pope Gregory X111 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.
Problems with This Explanation
There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn’t fully account for the spread of April Fools’ Day to other European countries The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools’ Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.
Constantine and Kugel
Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.
“In a way,” explained Prof. Boskin, “it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.”
This explanation was brought to the public’s attention in an Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to realize that they’d been victims of an April Fools’ joke themselves.
Spring Fever
It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there’s something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.
Observances Around the World
April Fools’ Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a “fool’s errand,” looking for things that don’t exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.
The French call April 1 Poisson d’Avril, or “April Fish.” French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying “Poisson d’Avril” when the prank is discovered.
Memorable April Fools’ Day pranks and hoaxes
One of the great media hoaxes of all time was perpetrated on April 1, 1957 by the BBC, which reported on its news program Panorama that Switzerland was experiencing a bumper spaghetti harvest that year thanks to favorable weather and the elimination of the dread “spaghetti weevil.” showing happy peasants plucking strands of pasta from tall trees was so convincing that many viewers actually called the network to ask how they could grow their own.
On April 1, 1976 famed British astronomer and radio presenter Patrick Moore announced over the BBC that a rare alignment of the planets Pluto and Jupiter would occur at exactly 9:47 a.m. during which the effects of gravity would be nullified and everyone on earth would feel weightless for a brief moment. “At 9:47, Moore declared, ‘Jump now!'” . “A minute passed, and then the BBC switchboard lit up with dozens of people calling in to report that the experiment had worked!” But it was all a complete prank, of course, one of the most famous in history.
Some of the best-known pranks in more recent years have been mounted by advertising agencies. In 1996, Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in the Newyork Times announcing it had purchased the LIBERTY BELL and would rename it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” Burger King pulled off a similar prank in 1998, announcing the rollout of its “Left-Handed Whopper supposedly designed so that condiments would drip from the right side of the burger rather than the left.
On the Internet, hoaxes are such standard fare that April Fools’ Day is barely distinguishable from any other, though a few notable pranks stand out and tend to be reposted year after year — e.g., a 1996-vintage announcement to the effect that every computer connected to the World Wide Web must be turned off and disconnected for Internet Cleaning Day, a 24-hour period during which useless “flotsam and jetsam” are flushed from the system.
Compiled
Dr.Kesiraju Ramprasad
Educational Psychologistchagallu program
April Fools’ Day: A Historical Perspective –compiled by Dr.Kesiraju Ramprasad
APRIL FOOLS DAY sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new Calendar. Now it became a customary practices range from simple practical jokes played on friends, family, and coworkers to elaborate media hoaxes concocted for mass consumption.
New Year’s Day Moves
The Ancient Cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the Vemal Equinoxes (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.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392), the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is set Syn March begin thirty days and two. Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, Syn March was gon.Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. 2 May, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia , which took place in 1381. Readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean “32 March”, i.e. 1 April In Chaucer’s tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.
In 1508, French poet Eloy d’Amervall referred to a poisson d’avril (April fool, literally “April fish”), a possible reference to the holiday.] In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on 1 April.[]In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the holiday as “Fooles holy day”, the first British reference. On 1 April 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to “see the Lions washed”
In 1582 Pope Gregory X111 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.
Problems with This Explanation
There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn’t fully account for the spread of April Fools’ Day to other European countries The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools’ Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.
Constantine and Kugel
Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.
“In a way,” explained Prof. Boskin, “it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.”
This explanation was brought to the public’s attention in an Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to realize that they’d been victims of an April Fools’ joke themselves.
Spring Fever
It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there’s something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.
Observances Around the World
April Fools’ Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a “fool’s errand,” looking for things that don’t exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.
The French call April 1 Poisson d’Avril, or “April Fish.” French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying “Poisson d’Avril” when the prank is discovered.
Memorable April Fools’ Day pranks and hoaxes
One of the great media hoaxes of all time was perpetrated on April 1, 1957 by the BBC, which reported on its news program Panorama that Switzerland was experiencing a bumper spaghetti harvest that year thanks to favorable weather and the elimination of the dread “spaghetti weevil.” showing happy peasants plucking strands of pasta from tall trees was so convincing that many viewers actually called the network to ask how they could grow their own.
On April 1, 1976 famed British astronomer and radio presenter Patrick Moore announced over the BBC that a rare alignment of the planets Pluto and Jupiter would occur at exactly 9:47 a.m. during which the effects of gravity would be nullified and everyone on earth would feel weightless for a brief moment. “At 9:47, Moore declared, ‘Jump now!'” . “A minute passed, and then the BBC switchboard lit up with dozens of people calling in to report that the experiment had worked!” But it was all a complete prank, of course, one of the most famous in history.
Some of the best-known pranks in more recent years have been mounted by advertising agencies. In 1996, Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in the Newyork Times announcing it had purchased the LIBERTY BELL and would rename it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” Burger King pulled off a similar prank in 1998, announcing the rollout of its “Left-Handed Whopper supposedly designed so that condiments would drip from the right side of the burger rather than the left.
On the Internet, hoaxes are such standard fare that April Fools’ Day is barely distinguishable from any other, though a few notable pranks stand out and tend to be reposted year after year — e.g., a 1996-vintage announcement to the effect that every computer connected to the World Wide Web must be turned off and disconnected for Internet Cleaning Day, a 24-hour period during which useless “flotsam and jetsam” are flushed from the system.
Compiled
Dr.Kesiraju Ramprasad
Educational Psychologistchagallu program
