April Fools' Day or All Fools Day - It's Coming, Be Warned!

Mar 26th April Fools’ Day or All Fools Day – It’s Coming, Be Warned!

Whether you call it April Fools’ Day or All Fools Day, it is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Where the tradition started no one really knows. Is it a celebration of the turning of the seasons that makes people play pranks on friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members? The long cold winter is over, new sprouts springing up all over make people giddy? Well, maybe.

April Fools’ Day is celebrated every year on April 1 by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. People playing April Fool jokes expose their prank by shouting April Fool. Some newspapers, magazines, and other published media report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day or below the news section in small letters. April Fool’s day has been popular since the 19th century, the day is not a public holiday in any country. But don’t you think it should be?

It’s noteworthy that many different cultures have had days of foolishness within weeks of the start of April. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis.

The Hindu calendar has Holi, probably the least religious of Hindu holidays. During Holi, Hindus attend a public bonfire, spray family and Friends with colored powders and water, and basically go a bit wild in the streets. Sounds a bit like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, doesn’t it?

The Jewish calendar has Purim. The joyous and fun festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar (late winter/early spring). It memorializes the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot to annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.

In Scotland, The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message that supposedly is a request for help. In fact, the message reads “Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile.” The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this next person with an identical message, with the same result.

Did you know that Aphrilophobia is the fear of April Fool’s Day. Here are a few of the phobias associated with this day termed social phobias because they entail being embarrassed in public or worse.

Katagelophobia – Fear of Ridicule or Embarrassment
Neophobia – Fear of something new
Scopophobia – Fear of being stared at
Ereuthophobia – Fear of blushing
Mythophobia – Fear of making a false statement
Traumatophobia – Fear of being emotionally wounded or injured

Do you usffer from any of these?

Is there something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to light-hearted celebrations? I think so! What do you think? Are you a prankster or not? Remember, don’t pull a prank on someone that you wouldn’t mind being pulled on you, because hurting someone’s feelings is no joke at all!