It all began with a small calendar glitch. You see, back in the day (“the day” being 1582), Charles IX of France decided to adopt the new Gregorian calendar. It was the latest and greatest; sort of like using an iPhone instead of a Daytimer. A Daytimer? You use it with a pen. Ink comes out of the pen. You use your hand to hold the pen and write words down on paper. Paper? Never mind.
Anyway, the new Gregorian calendar set the New Year at January 1st. People who were not in the know continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1; silly fools. There are other theories about the origin of April Fool’s Day but this one works for me; sort of like my Daytimer.
What a wonderful day April 1st is. Instead of buying gifts or preparing a special meal, you get to tease and torment the people you most love and care about. How fun is that?
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When I was in college I owned a recorder-type device that, upon pushing a button, played a man’s voice heartily laughing. As you listened it was hard not to laugh yourself, unless you were the matron lady in charge of an all-girls dorm. Girls dorm? That’s right in there with a Daytimer and paper.
The stairwell opened to all floors in the dorm including the one on which the dorm “mother” resided. It was fun to set that gizmo off on the third floor and watch her rush out of her room to figure out where that boisterous man was and how he’d broken into her dorm. Fun times.
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Another harmless and fun April Fool prank is the ever popular sign which you tape to someone’s back. The sign can say any number of things but the most popular is probably “Kick me in the tail.” (rear, backside or choose your own noun). In Scotland they find this joke so humorous that April 1st is referred to as “Taily Day.”
However you choose to celebrate, enjoy the day, have a laugh and watch your back. No fooling.