APRIL FOOL'S DAY THE WORLD OVER

The respected BBC news show Panorama announced one year that, thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying their best harvest ever of the spaghetti crop. Accompanying footage showed Swiss farmers pulling spaghetti noodles down from trees. Many viewers called the BBC to find out how to purchase and grow their own spaghetti trees. The BBC told them to "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best." All of which is ironic in that in England if a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle."

The above is number one on "The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time." April Fool's pranks have been played and enjoyed for centuries, with references to it going back to the 1500's. It is not unique to the U.S. and is celebrated world wide. April 1st is a good time for any culture to celebrate the return of spring, and many of the April's fool traditions tie into these celebrations. It is also the time of the vernal or spring equinox.

In fact, it may have originated with the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century. In 1564 France moved the start of the year from March to January 1. Those who either didn't get the news, or clung to the old ways, and continued to celebrate the New Year around April 1st had jokes played on them. They had paper fish stuck to their backs. Victims were called "Poisson d'Avril" or April Fish. The tradition of pulling pranks on April 1st was born.

April Fool's Day celebrations last two days in Scotland where it is known as "hunting the gowk" (the cuckoo). April fools are known as April Gowks. It is also called Taily Day. Fool's errands figure prominently on the first day. A victim is given a note they don't read to deliver to someone. The person receiving the note reads that it is a prank and sends them and the note on to someone else and so on. The prank du jour for day two is to to stick not a fish, but a sign, similar to a "kick me" sign, on someone's rear end. Being the "butt" of the joke is the theme of the second day--all jokes are related to the posterior. All April Gowk pranks must be played before noon or the person attempting the prank is considered the fool.

In Poland it is called Pryma Aprylis, a day of pranks and dressing up in costumes. It is largely a holiday for children, but some adults also become part of the fun. The Polish media has taken a larger part in the day's festivities in recent years.


Some countries have stranger observances than others, perhaps. In Portugal April Fool's is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday before Lent. The"prank" there is to throw flour at people.









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