Today In History: April Fool's Day

I had rather a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.

-- Act V, The Open Forest as Before. As You Like It, by William Shakespeare

For centuries people have been telling small jokes and playing pranks, but in fact no one really knows how April Fools' Day originated.  Some trace it back to Renaissance Europe, in particular, to a poem written in 1508 by Eloy D’Amerval, Le Livre de Deablerie (The Book of Devilry); it references the "poisson d'avril", now known as the person who is duped on April 1st.  In France, it is common for children to pin a paper fish on the back of an unwitting friend. In Scotland, the day is known as Gowkie Day, referring to the cuckoo which symbolizes a fool -- usually a cuckold.  In Shakespearean literature, our most beloved fools entertain the royalty or nobles -- with great license to speak with truth and wisdom; enter Touchstone (As You Like It), Feste (Twelth Night), Trinculo (The Tempest), and the Fool (King Lear).  Some think April Fools' Day dates back to ancient Rome, with the raucous festival of Hilaria celebrating the love and death of Cybele and Attis -- or the Holi festival in India and Nepal, where participants throw colored water and powders on one another -- their actions meant to symbolize deviance from typical societal norms and rankings. Whatever the history, today in history, we wish to lighten your step, and let you know that sometimes it's okay not to know -- also let your imagination (aided by a little research) come to its own conclusions.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• This Week in History: April Fools' Day. (1925, Apr 04). The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967) 
• Abrahams, A. (1968, Mar 29). Maybe Ol' Noah: Who Started This Fools' Day Stuff? The Austin Statesman (1921-1973) 
• Abrahams, A. (1968, Mar 28). April Fools' Day: A Question of Origin and Purpose. The Sun (1837-) 
• April Firsters--Foolers and Fooled. (1969, Apr 01). The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 
• Metcalf, S. (1986, Mar 27). Th'he Jokke's OOn Yo'ou: April Fools' Day Wanes, but Mischief Lingers. The Hartford Courant (1923-) 
• Diamant, A. (1990, Apr 01). Just Fooling. Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Holmstrom, D. (1996, Apr 01). Don't Believe All You Read Today. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 
• Fooled Ya! (2001, Apr 02). The Times of India (1861-2010) 
• McCann, F. (2008, Apr 01). Only a Fool Would Fall for That: Fabrications, Fibs and Falsehoods- It's All in a Day's Work for Journalists Desperate to Dupe All Those Unwary Readers on a Day Like Today. The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Kurczy, S. (2010, Apr 01). April Fools' Day History? Be Wary of Those Who Say They Know: April Fools' Day History Is Murky and Nobody Knows Its Origins. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 

Tips:

• Cusick, Richie Tankersley. April Fools. First edition. New York, NY: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 2014. e-book
• Franklin, Benjamin. Poor Richard’s Almanack. By Benjamin Franklin (Richard Saunders, Philomath). Selections from the Prefaces, Apothegms, and Rimes, with a Facsimile in Reduction of the Almanack for 1733. Ed. by Benjamin E. Smith. No place, unknown, or undetermined: The Century Co. 1902, 1902. e-book
• Jones, Theodore (Theodore Francis). April Fools’ Day : What a Joke! New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2016. e-book
• Kroll, Steven., and Jeni. Bassett. It’s April Fool’s Day! First edition. New York: Holiday House, 1990.  Juvenile ; PZ7.K9225 Irs 1990

Images:

• Me Watching Fishes from a Boat, by Anuja Vasa, from  Children's Art of India, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Poster Image:  April Fools Day, Courtesy Canva.
• Holi-Festival of Colors, n.d.,  from Children's Art of India, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.

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