No Foolin'! It's April Fools Day

The first of April, some do say,

Is set apart for All Fools' Day,

But why the people call it so

Nor I, nor they themselves do know.

But on the day are people sent

On purpose for pure merriment.

-Poor Robin's Almanac

The earliest observation of April Fools Day is said to have begun because

 New Year's Day once fell during Easter Week.  While that might sound 

 a little strange, in some areas of the world the new year began at 

 the time of the Vernal or Spring Equinox, which comes on or about

March 21st each year.  The celebration of Easter was often
observed around the same time.

 After Christianity became the main religion in western Europe,

 clergymen there were dismayed that the most solemn and

 holiest season on the church calendar coincided with the 

 uproarious celebrating associated with welcoming the New Year. 

 So, the New Year's festivities were eventually 
postponed to the first of April.

In the days of medieval France, April 1st was a time when 

families and friends visited each other and exchanged gifts.

Then, in the year 1564, the ruler of that nation, King Charles IX, 

 adopted the new Georgian calendar, which is used today, and the

celebration of New Year's Day was officially changed

from April 1st to January 1st.

This change of date was hard to accept and many people

 in France still marked April 1st with visits and gift-giving.

Others who eventually accepted the new date would

pretend they had forgotten about the change and pay 

visits to their family and friends bearing silly gifts 

 cleverly wrapped up to look like something else.

When the packages were opened the givers would

  laugh and cry out,  "April Fools!"

In the history of western civilization, the observance of

 April Fools  goes back only a few centuries.  The true
origins of this day are said to have begun thousands 
 of years ago, and it has long been associated with
pagan fertility rites and other occult practices.

In ancient Rome, the festival of Veneralia, or the Feast
of  the love goddess Venus was celebrated on April 1st. 

The Feast of Venus
(1636-37)
Peter Paul Rebens

A Greek myth connected with the day tells about Persephone, 

the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, who was kidnapped by Hades,

the lord of the underworld.  Hades held the poor maiden captive

in his dark underground kingdom.  Meanwhile, Demeter, 

the mother of Persephone and the goddess of grain and harvest,

was so sorely grieved over the loss of her daughter that she cursed 

the fertility of the land. Green plants and flowers turned brown.

 The fields and vineyards dried up and died.  The world

was rendered barren because nothing would grow.

Concerned that the barren earth would cause the death of mankind,

Zeus sent a messenger to Hades ordering him to send Persephone

back to her mother.  The only stipulation in the request was that the

girl had not eaten anything during her stay in the lower kingdom.

Unfortunately, Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds.

So, a compromise was agreed upon that she had to spend each

part of the year with Hades as his wife.

While Persephone remained in the underworld, nothing would

grow on the earth. However, when she came up to spend the remainder

of the year with her mother, the earth burst into bloom with flowers,

and tree blossoms and new green grass.  The fields once again

could be plowed and new grain planted and the vineyards 

 and orchards yielded their abundant fruit.

Persephone
(1912)
John William Waterhouse

Persephone's imminent return each year to her mother mirrored

the coming of Spring and the rebirth of the earth after Winter.

Thus, in ancient times, the beginning of a new growing season

was cause for celebration, occurring right around the time

of April Fools Day.

  Hebrew folklore links April Fools to the story of 

Noah's Ark in the Old Testament.  Noah made the mistake

of sending out the first dove from the Ark before the flood

waters had receded, and  since the dove was unable to 

 to find land and eventually returned to the Ark, Noah's 
lack of common sense was regarded as a "fool's errand."

Noah's folly is said to have occurred on the first day of the Hebrew

 month of Nisan, which usually begins around the first of April, and
   on the Hebrew calendar marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical year.

Another suggestion regarding the origins of April Fools 
 stems from the performance of medieval Passion plays, which
 placed special emphasis on the suffering inflicted on Christ 
by His tormentors.  The first day of April served as a
reminder to persecuted Christians in those times
 of the mockery endured by our Savior.

 A postcard depicting a medieval Passion play
in Oberammergau, Germany
(1922)

 Yet another belief about April Fools Day centered around a

 bizarre and cruel practice from centuries past in which inmates

  were taken out of insane asylums to entertain crowds of revelers.

These poor souls were often subjected to terrible abuse while

the spectators laughed at and ridiculed their behavior.

 On a less disturbing note concerning this day,

weather folklore associates April 1st with the month's 

 known fickleness and fluctuating temperatures.

  For although Spring may have sprung, instead of warm and 

balmy days, snow, sleet, and freezing rain are sometimes 

possible in certain areas of the United States, thus making 

 a mockery out of the date on the calendar.

Welcome Beautiful April

"My beloved speaks and says to me,

Rise up, my love, my fair one, 

and come away.

For behold, the winter is past;

 the rain is over and gone. 

The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of the singing of birds has come,

and the voice of the turtledove

is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth 

and ripens her green figs,

and the vines are in blossom

 and give forth their fragrance.

Arise my love, my fair one,

and come away."

Song of Solomon

2:10-13


Source material for this post was taken
from the book, "Holidays of Legend
From New Years To Christmas"
By Mildred H. Arthur
Harvey House, INC.
Publishers
(1971)