Thursday, April 01, 2010

Why April Fools Day?

I'm not a big April Fools Day prankster, but I thought it might be fun to read a snippet I got from the Yahoo Buzz Blog about some of the possible roots of April Fools Day:

" . . There are several theories regarding the origin of April Fools' Day, and none of them are 100% definitive. However, one does stand above the rest: The Museum of Hoaxes explains that in 1564, King Charles IX of France passed a law that changed the beginning of the year from April 1 to January 1.

News of the change traveled slowly. Those who were either misinformed or slow to make the adjustments still celebrated the New Year on April 1. As a result, they were mocked and pranks were pulled.

The urban legend experts at Snopes.com note that several other theories are worth considering. Some believe that the day falls on April 1 because of the arrival of spring, when "nature 'fools' mankind with fickle weather." Another possibility: The holiday "is thought to commemorate the fruitless mission of the rook (the European crow), who was sent out in search of land from Noah's flood-encircled ark."  . . ."


Helping you being completely Well-Rounded, including in Fun, 
Sharron C. Grzybowski
Co-Founder of STOP, Stop the Obesity Pandemic

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