Today is April Fool’s Day, also sometimes called All Fools’ Day. As I’ve mentions in previous April 1st blogs, even though its been commemorated for centuries by a multitude of cultures in various locations, its precise origin is actually unknown.
The first recorded mention of the day as being special was in the Nun’s Priest Tales in 1392 by Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales. In the tale, a vain cockerel is tricked by a wily fox, very much like in an Aesops’ fable. Written in old English, the line says, “Syn March was gon.” This can be translated as “since March was gone.” The sentence led historians to believe that a special occasion occurs on April 1st, in which others can be tricked.
Some historians have linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful,) which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele. It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.
There’s also a theory that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Norther Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.
But this isn’t what I intended to write about today — I’ve decided that this blog has for too long been about nothing. It just rambles on about insignificant things, so I’m going to change the format to a more formal, meaningful dialog about things that are important and make a sincere effort to do my part to make this a truly better world.
Is this an April Fool’s joke? Check this blog the next few days for the answer to that….
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