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This holiday has come about
through a culmination of smaller holidays celebrated by various cultures
throughout history. One of the most popular theories as to its modern
celebration originated in France. April 1st was the first day of
the new year throughout French history. In 1562 Pope Gregory
introduced a new calendar with January 1st as the beginning of the new
year. Due to poor communication methods, and other reasons, many
French did not hear about this change, and continued to celebrate April
1st as the beginning of the new year. These celebrators began to
be called "April Fools." Pranks and other jokes began to
be played on these people as well. This tradition carried over to
the new world and has become a custom to play pranks on family and
friends. [Just be sure you use good judgment. Someone once sued a
"friend" for pulling out a chair from under them when they
were about to sit down -- they sued the "friend" and won.]
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April
Fools Day Facts & History
Annie's April Fools
Day Page (Annies Home Page): A
non-commercial website devoted to April Fools day. http://www.annieshomepage.com/aprilfools.html
CNN.com
(official):: A news story from
CNN entitled New York Prankster Makes April Fools of the Media.
HowStuffWorks.com
(official): Answer to a question on the origin of April Fools Day.
The
History of April Fools Day (Information Entertainment.com): A short
article on the history of April Fools Day.
April
Fools Day (US Embassy): Information and history of April Fools Day.
April
Fools Day (Wilstar.com): Information and links on April Fools Day.
For some free shareware to
provide fun and pranks, go to TheFreeSite.com.
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Traditionally gifts are not
exchanged during this holiday. However, if the situation is right,
a gag gift might be appropriate. Just make sure that it will not
hurt the person or property. It is also a good idea to make sure
that the recipient of this gift will appreciate it. Lastly, make
sure that is you can take a joke yourself, because if you are willing to
dish it out, some other prankster might try the same on you. |
