April Fool's Day

American author and satirist Mark Twain summed up the nature of the holiday thus: "The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year." It is a day for harmless tricks and good laughs. The origin of April Fool's Day or 'All Fools' Day goes back to the dilemma faced by many Europeans in 1562 when Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar, one which shifted the start of the new year from its traditionally warm nesting place of April 1 to the cold and dreary date of January 1. This change was so dramatic, and, considering the supreme power of the church, so universal in its sweep, that very soon those who hadn't heard of or didn't believe in the calendar change, and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1 st, were christened 'April Fools', and became the targets of ridicule and the brunt of some pretty serious jokes and pranks. In fact, one must judge for oneself just how merry and fun those April Fool's days must have been, and in what other ways people were 'encouraged' to conform.

Today in the United States both children and adults play small tricks on each other. Among some common tricks are trying to convince someone that their pants or skirt has a rip down the centre back seam, pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying 'Your shoelace is untied'. Putting salt in the sugar bowl is another common prank, so beware. If the trickster is still around he or she may take credit for his deed by shouting 'April Fool'. If you are the innocent victim of such mischief, your first reaction may be to wring the scoundrel's neck. However, in the interests of allowing a cultural tradition to survive at least one more year, please consider the date and "take it with a grain of salt"