April Fool’s Day: How the custom started – Why do we lie?

April 1, 2022

Robert

April 1st is known for the pranks we do, however this custom has been around for a long time and very few people know its origin.

April Fool’s Day is a custom that, according to the prevailing version, comes from 16th century Europe. However, there are many versions of how it started.

According to the first version, the custom was started by the Celts. The people of northwestern Europe, the Celts, were poor fishermen. The fishing season started on April 1st. No matter how good the fishermen were, at this time of year the fish are hard to catch. So they, as the “code of conduct” of fishermen of all times protects, lied about how many fish they had caught. This habit became, over time, a custom.

The second version, which is considered more historically valid, wants 16th century France as the birthplace of the custom. Until 1564 the French New Year was April 1. This year, however, and during the reign of Charles IX, this changed and January 1st was now considered New Year. In the beginning, not all citizens accepted this. The reactionaries continued to celebrate their old New Year on April 1, while the rest sent them New Year gifts to make fun of them. This teasing became a custom over time.

The roots of the custom

Some people associate April Fool’s Day with celebrations in Ancient Rome, such as Hilaria (from the ancient Greek hilarious meaning happy or cheerful). It was celebrated at the end of March, by believers of the goddess Kyveli. One of the customs observed by the citizens was to disguise themselves and “tease” passers-by, setting up “ambushes”, frightening them and so on.

Also, the custom is said to be associated with Egyptian myths associated with the deities Isis, Osiris and Seth.

Another version connects April Fool’s Day with the spring solstice or the first day of Spring for the northern hemisphere, when mother nature “mocked” people with constant changes in the weather.

In Britain, however, the roots of April Fool’s Day are in the 18th century. A study conducted by folklorists in the 1950s states that April Fool’s jokes are performed until noon. In the afternoon if someone makes a joke “the idiot of the month”. Hence the English name of April Fool’s Day.

In Scotland, April Fool’s Day was celebrated for two days. The first custom of Scottish April Fool’s Day was the “cuckoo hunt”. In it they sent people to do some funny things, for no reason, and then they made fun of them. The other custom of April Fool’s Day had to do with the. Buttocks. The pranksters stuck tails on their pants and dresses or even inscriptions that read “kick me!”.

In Ireland it was a tradition to entrust the victim with an “important letter” to be given to a person. This person would read the letter, then ask the victim to take it to someone else, and so on. The letter inside read “send the fool below”.

In Italy, France, Belgium and the French-speaking regions of Switzerland and Canada, the April Fools’ Day tradition is often referred to as the “April Fish”.

The pranksters were sticking a paper fish on the victim’s back without being noticed. This feature has been imprinted on many postcards of April Fool’s Day in France from the late 19th to the early 20th century.

Many newspapers also spread a false story 1st Day of April and a subtle reference to a fish is sometimes given as an indication for readers to understand that it is an April Fool’s joke.

The custom in Greece

This custom came to Greece over time from Europe and then differentiated. The basic idea of course remained the same. We tell innocent lies in order to deceive our “victim”.

In some areas, they believe that whoever manages to deceive the other will be lucky for the rest of the year. Others believe that the “perpetrator” will have a good harvest in his crops.

Also, the rain water of April Fool’s Day, some believe, has healing properties. As for the “victim”, it is believed that, unlike the “perpetrator”, he will be rude the rest of the time and most likely if he is married, he will become widowed quickly.

According to the Greek folklorist Loukatos, this custom is a deliberate “deception of the harmful forces that would hinder any production”, such as the beginning of the month for both March and April, forcing many to take various “countermeasures”.

The Greek folklorist G. Megas also agrees that the April Fool’s “pseudology” misleads the underlying forces of evil, so that it is considered by the people as an important term of magnetic energy (attraction or deterrence) for an impending success.

In the modern world, on April Fool’s Day it is common to publish – reproduce false news in the media. Many times, however, other media republish the lie as normal news, causing upset.