Yup, Quick Meme. A sure sign that I'm grasping at straws.
Okay, today is April Fool's Day
From the OAFSSRFTOTN:
April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.
In Italy, France and Belgium, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other's back as a trick and shout "April fish!" in their local languages (pesce d'aprile!, poisson d'avril! and aprilvis! in Italian, French and Flemish, respectively). Such fish feature prominently on many French late 19th to early 20th century April Fools' Day postcards.
The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 by Pope Gregory XIII as New Year's Day of the Gregorian Calendar in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, sometimes questioned for earlier references.I lived in Germany for 7-plus years, not that far from Belgium. I'm guessing I was never in Belgium on April 1st as I'm pretty sure that I would've remembered Belgians walking around with paper fishes tacked to their backs. What a droll and unusual custom.
Why a fish I wonder? Somehow I cannot imagine American's running around yelling "April fish!"
Of course, I couldn't imagine Americans electing an incompetent as President. Though there is some historical precedent for that.
So yeah, I'm not really "in" to April Fool's Day. I find practical jokes and pranks to be somewhat tedious. Perhaps it's because I'm no good at them.
I'm also reminded that Tax Day is two weeks from today. Oh boy, something else to celebrate. Grumble...
ReplyDeleteSomeone once said that the atheists should leave the religious holidays alone after all they had one.... Does it not strike you as remotely funny that the day after the most significant Christian holiday is what some consider the atheist holiday?
This is something I did not know. That is funny. April Fool's Day as an atheist holiday. Heh.
DeleteI knew and loved Poisson d'Avril VERY well. But then again, I was eight to 11 years of age when I lived in France; the tradition is PERFECT for small boys..
ReplyDeleteYeah, I read your April 1st post and saw that. Today was the first I'd ever heard of that tradition!
DeleteI can see the appeal of Poisson d'Avril to a ten-year old boy.