April Fools

Good morning to all you lovely people out there in Blogland.  The rain has stopped and finally a glimpse of the sun.  I heard on the news this morning that this has been the rainiest March in New York City history.  So, today is the last day of March.  Can you believe it?  How fast time is flying by!  Soon my eldest will be 34; it seems like yesterday that I was pushing him about in his carriage.  Last night my son and I were talking, and I told him about his first day of school.  I brought him to the classroom, and as I was about to leave, he threw himself into a major temper tantrum.  It was awful.  The teacher, who knew exactly how to handle it, told me, "Leave.  Just leave. He will be okay."  So, despite my trepidation, I left, and by the time I got out the front door and peeked into the window, he was sitting in his chair as calm as could be.  

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."  Mark Twain

So, tomorrow is April Fools' Day.  Last year I walked into my bosses office and told him "I quit".  If you could have seen the look on his face.  Then I said, "April Fools".  If you could have seen the look on his face!  But how did April Fools' Day originate, anyway?  Actually, you can say, it is an unsolved mystery. 

There are some who say it began in many different parts of the world at the same time as a way of livening up the spring equinox celebration. Others argue that it was the result of the adoption of Gregorian calendar.  It seems that in ancient times, the New Year began on March 25th followed by 8 days of festivities and ending on April 1st.  Then, when the new calendar came about, New Years' Day was moved to January 1st.  This was confusing to many who refused to accept the new date. And, it also must be taken into account that communication traveled slowly in those days; thus, some people only learned of the change several years later. So, for whatever reason, it took several years before the January 1st date was accepted. 

And then we come to those people who refused, under any circumstances, to acknowledge this date change and continued to celebrate on April 1st.  The general population labeled these people 'fools' and began to ridicule them by sending them on 'fool errands' such as extending invitations to non-existent parties or by playing other practical jokes on them.  This continued over time and eventually became the April Fools' Day we know today.  

Some April Fools' Day tidbits:

In Scotland, the day is dedicated to spoofs involving the buttocks and is know as "Taily Day".  The origins of the "Kick Me" sign can be traced back to this observance.

In Rome, the day is called the "Festival of Hilaria".  It is the culmination of the observance of the god, Attis, which occurred on March 25th.  

In England tricks are played on each other only in the morning for it was considered bad luck to play a practical joke on someone after the noon hour.  

What is one of your most infamous April Fools' Day tricks?