April Fool's Day Worldwide
April Fool's Day is one of the most light-hearted days of the year, a day when everyone tries to use their sense of humour on you. You enjoy it of course, unless your ability to joke and laugh at yourself leaves much to be desired. Have you ever wondered how different nations celebrate this fabulous holiday? It's not that each country has drastically different ways of having fun on April Fool's Day, it's just that each country is characterized by its special 'aprilfoolish' colouring. Why not browse through different international funny facts and 'tricks' connected with the notorious holiday!
Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon. If you play a trick on someone after this time you are the April Fool. Elsewhere, for instance in France, the jokes may last all day long.
Let's switch to England now where all English gentlemen turn into cheeky chaps on the first of April and play jokes high and low. The ones who fail to get the jokes are usually loudly labeled as 'April fools!!!' One of the most famous and memorable jokes took place in Misty Albion in 1860 when hundreds of English ladies and gentlemen received invitations for the 'annual ceremony of washing the white lions in Tower'. Original fun, isn't it?!
The classical practical Joke of the Century is considered to have happened in Britain as well. It occurred in 1957 when BBC informed the Brits of an unheard-of harvest of macaroni in Switzerland. The story was successfully backed up with a very trustworthy video where farmers very seriously and trustworthily reaped good harvest of (boiled) noodles in the fields of faraway Switzerland. The audience was quite shocked after watching the news. People started writing to BBC office eagerly inquiring why those noodles were equal in length, how come they grew vertically, some people even asked to send them the magic seeds... The absurd joke turned out to be incredibly successful, don't you agree? We would never believe it if it hadn't once happened in reality.
In Germany and Austria the first of April used to be considered a day which brough bad luck. They said that a person, who was born on the first of April, was very unlucky, something bad always happened to him, - if we follow the superstition. According to the legend, Judas the traitor was born on that day, and Satan was thrown down from Heaven on the first of April too. Nobody worked in the country on that day, nobody started new affairs.
The first of April is eagerly celebrated even in Russia where they play practical jokes on each other and trick each other whenever and wherever they can – at work, at home, on TV, radio or even in the streets (that certainly excludes jokes about Mister President).
An interesting fact is that in France April Fool's Day used to be called 'Poisson d'Avril (April Fish) because when they started celebrating it the sun was in the zodiac sign of Pisces, the fish. The fact that the name itself is already funny isn't fishy at all, is it?
It's so great indeed that we have such light-hearted good-humoured holidays for they inspire even the worst bores to move their asses and who knows maybe even start joking. It's a splendid opportunity for everyone of us to relax and scoff at each other without being offended at, physically or psychologically damaged.