Think About It. No foolin’. Was it you that said you wished they’d stop those silly April Fools jokes? If so you must be in the minority if the long and labored history of the day and it’s sometimes dubious fun is any indication. Chaucer in his Canterbury tales (circa 1390) tells a tale you may remember of Chanticleer, the vain cock rooster, fooled by the fox arguably on the date of April 1st. Scholars can’t agree. Maybe it was a literary joke by Chaucer or a droll contemporary.
Later, the yearly lionwash came as a reward and also fundraiser. Look closely.
While in France some years ago, I saw school children with paper fish taped to their backs as victims of a called Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish. Credit, they say goes to Charles XIV who moved the start of the year from March to January 1. Speedy transportation and therefore communication lacking, the country folks were late to learn and practice the new date while the big city snobs poked fun, starting the fishy joke on them.
Not to be left out, the Italians nearby adapted the custom with Il Pesce d’aprile. Again April fish. You get the point. Different schoolyard. Same fish.
With Great Britain, The Netherlands, Germany and France all trying to take credit, seems to illustrate the cross-cultural need for a release from the seriousness of life. The practice of finding or being a fool on a special day seems to have spread to the East as well, but there’s a cautionary sense of not hurting another person’s feelings in the process.
I seem to be lacking in ability to fool, but certainly capable of being found gullible if presented the opportunity. When the news broke on a Tennessee television station, I thought it was a joke. Boy, how wrong you can be?! My friends all made fun of me. No Foolin’. Think About It.