Jokers Wild – April Fool’s Day
April 1, also known as April Fool’s Day or All Fool’s Day, is a day dedicated to nonsense and deception. Hopefully, the worst that can befall an unfortunate victim is a case of deep shame. But beware! You may never know what hit you.
There are several speculative points of view regarding the origin of this innocent celebration. The only constant is that this day is a relic of some vernal equinox that began on March 25, the beginning of the old New Year’s Day, and its culmination on April 2.
It has also been suggested that France was responsible for the introduction of April Fool’s Day in Europe. By decree of Charles IX, France was one of the first nations to make January 1 their official New Year’s Day, in 1564. Gifts and visits to friends that had been a feature of April 1 were transferred to January 1. . Citizens who protested the change in dates, or who were unaware of the change, were easy prey for those pranksters and bon vivants who easily entertained themselves by sending ersatz gifts on April 1.
It wasn’t until the dawn of the 18th century that participation in April 1 nonsense became common practice.
The practice followed in Scotland was called “hunting the gowk” (the cuckoo) and the innocent were called “April gowks”, the cuckoo being regarded there as a term of scorn.
In France, fools were branded as “poisson d’avril” (April fish) on the assumption that April fish were young fish and therefore easy to catch, as a gullible or naive person might be. Originally, a dead fish was placed on the fool’s back, but that has been replaced with a paper cutout.
In England, it’s an unwritten law that pranks must be performed only before 12 noon. The British call their fools “gobs” or “gobby” and the victim of a prank is called a “noodle”. Practical jokes committed after noon are considered bad luck.
The people of Rome, Italy, celebrate the resurrection of the god Attis on March 25. This day is called “Roman Laughter Day.”
The Portuguese celebrate April Fool’s Day on the Sunday and Monday before Lent by throwing flour at their friends.
India celebrates the Huli Festival on March 31. Jokes are made and colors are spread to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Over time, innocent bullying became a custom to play pranks on April 1. After spreading to places like Scotland and Great Britain in the 18th century, the prank tradition was introduced to the American colonies, giving the holiday an international flavor.
The first record of an April Fool’s Day prank was printed in drake news letter in 1698. Londoners received cards inviting them to the Tower of London to watch the washing of the lions on April 1. The lions had been removed from the Tower earlier, the bath guests realized. For many years Londoners repeated this joke on gullible rural visitors.
In 1957, BBC television in London perpetrated a famous hoax. They insisted that the dreaded pest, the spaghetti weevil, had been conquered in Switzerland and it was now safe for the Swiss to harvest spaghetti from their trees. The BBC was inundated with people wanting to know how to grow their own spaghetti trees!
Not everyone likes to be embarrassed on April Fool’s Day, no matter how innocent the prank. Afrolophobia it is the fear of April Fools’ Day. There are many phobias related to the practices of the day that are considered social phobias because they involve some instance of public shame or humiliation. These include:
- Katagelophobia- Fear of ridicule or embarrassment
- Neophobia- Fear of something new
- Scopophobia: fear of being looked at
- Ereutophobia – fear of blushing
- Mytophobia: fear of making a false statement
- Traumatophobia: fear of being hurt or emotionally injured.
Remember, when contemplating which prank to play on which victim, consider your victim’s personality before you make a horrible mistake. Some victims suffer from mild anxiety to full-blown anxiety attacks. If you have doubts, don’t do it. Hurting a person’s feelings about themselves is never a joke. Would you like to be pranked?