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April Fool"s Day
April 1st
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April Fool"s Day is traditionally a day to play practical jokes on others,
send people on fool"s errands, and fool the unsuspecting. No one knows how this
holiday began but it was thought to have originated in France.
The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this
tradition was in 1582, in France. New Year"s was celebrated on March 25 and
celebrations lasted until April 1st. When New Year"s Day as changed from March
25 to January 1st in the mid-1560"s by King Charles IX, there were some people
who still celebrated it on April 1st and those people were called April
Fools.
Pranks performed on April Fool"s Day range from the simple, (such as
saying, "Your shoe"s untied!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate"s alarm
clock back an hour is a common gag. The news media even gets involved. For
instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool"s Day was a fairly
detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop
from the spaghetti trees. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by
yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"
April Fool"s Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy
gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant.
Nobody gets off work or school. It"s simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday
on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April
Fool!
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Each country celebrates April Fool"s differently. In France, the April
Fool"s is called "April Fish" (Poisson d"Avril). The French fool their friends
by taping a paper fish to their friends" backs and when some discovers a this
trick, they yell "Poisson d"Avril!".
In England, tricks can be played only in the morning. If a trick is played
on you, you are a "noodle". In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long and
you are called an "April Gowk", which is another name for a cuckoo bird. The
second day in Scotland"s April Fool"s is called Taily Day and is dedicated to
pranks involving the buttocks. Taily Day"s gift to posterior posterity is the
still-hilarious "Kick Me" sign. |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:21:00