There are various hypotheses about the birth of this popular tradition which in English is called April Fool’s Day
Patrizia Chimera
April 1st – 8.43am – MILAN
Children and the most playful people who are always ready to play pranks can’t wait for the The first of April. Tradition has it that this is the day of April Fool or of theApril Fool’s Day, to use the English term attributed to this popular festival. A day where every joke is allowed. Why did this custom arise? because it’s called April Fool’s Day and what are the pranks that are usually played on the first day of the fourth month of the year? As often happens with habits of popular origin, the story of how it all began is not entirely clear.
what is April Fools’ Day and how did it originate?
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The April Fool, which coincides with the first day of this spring month, is a day when pranks are played on everyone. No one knows exactly how this custom arose. There are many hypotheses about it.
There are those who suggest that it all began in the 14th century, when the Blessed Bertrand of San Genesio, patriarch of Aquileia, saved a pope who was about to suffocate with a fish bone. The pontiff, to thank him, decided that fish should no longer be eaten in the Friulian city on April 1st. Hence the name April Fool’s Day.
Another legend takes us, however, to France, in the 16th century, in the period in which the New Year was moved from March 25th to January 1st, thanks to the reform of the Gregorian calendar commissioned by King Charles IX. At the time, New Year’s celebrations fell on April 1st. When the date was changed, not everyone followed the new rules, also because they were not aware of them. They were called “April Fools” and everyone started making fun of them, playing all kinds of pranks. The term started to be used Poisson d’AvrilApril Fool’s Day in French, referring to the fish that take the bait, just as those people took the bait of the jokes made towards them.
There are also other hypotheses. The April Fool it may have arisen following the return to shore of some fishermen who, at the beginning of April, had not caught any fish in the sea: everyone made fun of them. Or it could refer to a story about Cleopatra and Mark Antony. During a fishing competition, the Roman apparently tried to cheat by having a slave hook the fish. The Egyptian Queen discovered him and played a prank on him too, having a fake fish covered in crocodile skin attached to the hook.
the custom of playing pranks on April Fools’ Day
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Tradition has it that on this day an attempt is made to attach a paper fish to the back of the unfortunate person, without him realizing it. This is a version that especially children like a lot. You can also attach a card that says “April Fool’s Day” or “Kick me”kick me (a joke usually used at work or among friends): this custom was born in Scotland.
In Great BritainHowever, pranks can be played until midday. Anyone who plays a trick on someone after the twelfth stroke becomes a victim of April Fools’ Day himself. Among the most curious pranks of this day there are also prank calls, the purchase of pages in newspapers to make fun of as many people as possible, the replacement of sugar with salt in the kitchen or vice versa. You can still have fun with it, the important thing is to shout April Fool’s Day at the end, to make it clear that it’s a left-handed trick.
Finally, pay attention to what you read especially online. In fact, they can appear in the media hoaxes and news bordering on the incredible, for this reason on April 1st it is good to be wary of news that is too surprising (as we should do the rest of the year) and wait until the next day to understand where the truth lies.
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