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The
Origin of April Fool's Day --- the Relationship between April Fool's Day & the
Gregorian Calendar.
Until the late16th century, most Western nations observed New Year's Day on
April 1st,* which closely follows the Vernal Equinox. They used the Julian
Calendar, invented by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C. The Julian Calendar was
quite accurate, but it is 11.5 minutes a year longer than the solar calendar.
This error is tiny, but by the 16th century the Julian Calendar was 10 days
behind the solar calendar. In the late 1500s, Pope Gregory XIII** ordered a
new calendar to replace the Julian calendar for the Christian world in order to
correct the error. The new calendar was called the "Gregorian
Calendar," under which New Year's Day is observed on January 1st.
Some people didn't believe this new calendar or didn't know about the change.
As a result, some people continued to observe New Year's Day on April 1st.
Other people who had already adopted the new calendar started making fun of or
tricking the people who continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1st.
They called them, "April Fools." It looks like this became the origin
of "April Fool's Day." In France, it is just a special day for
kids to laugh at other kids or adults by hanging paper fishes on their
backs. When the "Fool" is aware of this trick, the kids will cry
"Poisson d’Avril!(April Fish!)"
Scotland also has another joke; see the source below.
In spite of Pope Gregory's time error correction,
many Protestant countries, including England, ignored Pope Gregory's new
calendar. For example,
Germany
and the
Netherlands
agreed to adopt the Gregorian
Calendar in 1698.
Finally, around 1750
England
and the American colonies adopted
the Gregorian Calendar. Before the calendar adoption in England, England
and the American colonies celebrated New Year's Day on March 25*, the first day
of spring. Back then the English calendar differed from the continental
European calendar by 11 days. By the way,
Japan
adopted the Gregorian Calendar in
1873.
Today
some Americans also play jokes on strangers as well as buddies on
April 1st. Two typical pranks on April Fool's Day here are "Your
shoe's untied!" and setting your roommate's alarm clock back one hour.
Here are true stories from an American! (see Appendix)
April Fool's Day is a holiday only for fun. There are no gift exchanges
and no one treats his significant other at a fancy restaurant on this day.
In addition, nobody gets off work or school. On this day, however, you
must think twice before believing what someone says to you.
*Some
articles say New Year's Day was April 1st, some say it was March 25 or
about March 21, the Vernal Equinox (First Day of Spring), and the others say
New Year's Day began on March 25 and the celebration culminated on April 1st.
** In France Charles IX introduced the Gregorian calendar.
Sources:
< http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html >
< http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0804428.html >
History of the Calendar &
Adoption Year of the Gregorian Calendar for Each Nation < http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0002061.html >
New Year's Day for England and the American colonies: St. Paul
Pioneer Press, March 20, 2003
April Fool's Day in Scotland "Taily Day" >> "kick me"
sign? < http://wilstar.com/holidays/aprilfool.htm >
For kids < http://www.teacherlink.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/april.html
>
Click
here for Appendix A, B, and C
(download: 4 sec): True
stories from two Americans! Comments from a Japanese who has been living in the
US over
ten years.
8899 150401
"War of the
Worlds"
The
Night America Trembled 1957 - H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds - YouTube
Night That Panicked America (1975) Full TV Movie - YouTube
Welles scares nation - Oct 30, 1938 - HISTORY.com
The War of the Worlds (radio drama) - Wikipedia
Orson
Welles - Wikipedia
Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds panic myth: The infamous
radio broadcast did not cause a nationwide hysteria. Slate,
10/28/2013 - "... The panic ...
made "War of the Worlds" perhaps the most
notorious event ..."
April 1st: April Fools Day（エイプリルフールズデー）
Letter
43
|
レター
43
Halloween
8898 150401
April 1 April Fools' Day
No Joke! 14 April Fool's Day Facts MSN
lifestyle
21 famous fakes and hoaxes MSN News
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: April Fools' Day (Web
Exclusive) - YouTube
April 1st: April Fools Day（エイプリルフールズデー）
Letter
43
|
レター
43
1405 130401 YouTube
April
Fools Math Class Shadow |
April
Fools Day Pranks - Girls Prank Dad - Falling Down Stairs - Car Scratched Up!
April Fools' Day 2013 online roundup - CBS News
|
Top 10 Best April Fools Web Pranks of 2013 HEAVY
Quick
and EVIL April Fool's Pranks |
"We
think those are nasty
tricks to play on
anyone":
Top
Ten April Fools Pranks
5522 140401
April
Fools Day (Google)
Newsletter 43 (Japanese)
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