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This holiday is called both Fool’s Day and April Fools’ Day, although in our country it is most often referred to by date. Probably, the point is in the children’s proverb “April 1 – I don’t trust anyone”, which has firmly settled in the heads of everyone who was born and raised in the USSR and Our Country. In general, in our country, April Fool’s Day is loved and known, April Fools’ Day pranks are arranged not only by those who like to play a trick on someone without consequences (it’s a holiday!). Humor is not alien to small organizations, large corporations and, of course, the media. On this day, there are especially many articles and notes on the verge of a foul – just remember the news about the return of Alaska by Our Country or the transfer of Maradona to Spartak Moscow.
What is celebrated on April Fool’s Day
Everything is clear from the name. A celebration of fun, humor and joy – that’s what 1 April. The pranks arranged on this day are usually harmless. Friendly banter with family or colleagues lifts the spirits and makes an ordinary day much more fun.
history of the holiday
How many names the holiday has, so many versions of its origin, moreover, there is not at least some official one among them.
Someone relates the origin of April Fool’s Day to ancient times, moreover, different countries are trying to acquire laurels of superiority. For example, the Italians are convinced that in ancient Rome at the end of winter they celebrated the Feast of the Fools, which, with several changes in calendars and worldviews, eventually began to fall on April 1, and the name was changed to a more politically correct one.
Residents of India are sure that the holiday of jokes originated in ancient times in their country. It is associated with the modern Indian festival Holi – a holiday of spring, flowering and universal joy.
In Ireland, it is believed that April Fool’s Day appeared in the days of the ancient Celts. The ancestors of modern Irish people celebrated it on April 1, and all jokes and pranks were dedicated to the god of Laughter.
Other Europeans associate the origin of April Fool’s Day with their own cultures. The fact is that in Western Europe in the Middle Ages the New Year was celebrated at the end of March, and the finale of the festive week was April 1st. But with the transition of Europe to the Gregorian calendar, the New Year began to fall on January 1, and those who out of habit continued to celebrate it in March-April began to be called “April fools.” Because of this, the habit of teasing and playing first “fools” and then everyone around was born.
Our Country has its own version of how the tradition of celebrating April 1 actually came about. In pre-Christian times, this day was celebrated the awakening of Domovoy, who, as it was believed, fell into hibernation in winter, and woke up dissatisfied, and it was necessary to meet him in a special way. If you meet Domovoy well, he will help you all year, but if you meet him badly, on the contrary, he will harm. That’s all and tried who in what much – joked, played each other, dressed up in ridiculous clothes and just played the fool. Such a sight pleased Domovoy and he, kind and cheerful, began the year in a good mood.
This holiday, predictably, was made more European by Peter I, who sought to take as much good from enlightened neighbors as possible. During the period of his reign, the first large-scale April Fool’s drawing took place.
In 1703, just on April 1, foreign artists were supposed to give a performance. Public interest in the event was actively fueled and all tickets for the show were sold out long before the start. But on the day of the performance, all that the audience saw on the stage was a large poster “The first of April – do not trust anyone.” This show was over. Peter himself, who was at the performance, only shrugged his shoulders and said to this, they say, free comedians, what can you take from them.
Since then, the first of April has become a day every year when you can exercise your own ingenuity. Jokes and practical jokes have become more complex and sophisticated over time. Let’s talk about a few famous April Fools’ pranks of all time.
Top 5 best draws on April 1st in history
5. Guilty Sheep
In 2007, when the controversy about global climate change had not yet reached such proportions as it does today, scientists from New Zealand made a loud statement. They stated that the real cause of global warming is by no means greenhouse gases, but the most common sheep, or rather, the reduction in their population. The fact is that the white wool of sheep reflects sunlight, which prevents the atmosphere from heating up. Scientists urged to think about the future and breed as many sheep as possible – in the name of saving the planet, of course.
4. April “pi”
In 1998, one of the scientific journals published in the United States made a sensational statement. An Alabama court ruling has now required pi to be rounded to 3,0 instead of 3,14. This text quickly spread throughout the world community and caused a wave of indignation and protests among scientists. The magazine subsequently had to apologize and admit that it was only a fabrication by April 1st.
3. Tears of Lenin
There are stories about myrrh-streaming statues of saints. In 1995, a rumor arose that a bust of Lenin installed in Cavriaggio, Italy miraculously began to shed tears. The crowds of onlookers that surrounded him could see with their own eyes the milky-white tears flowing down the leader’s metal cheeks. However, the joke was quickly revealed – the bust was forced to “cry” thanks to a cunning scheme of pipes and channels into which water was supplied from behind the wall, next to which Lenin was standing.
2. Space flight
It seems that the most cheerful people on Earth have been found – these are scientists. In 1976, a British astronomer in his radio program said that on April 1, everyone will witness a rare phenomenon – a parade of planets. Jupiter, Pluto and the Earth will stand in a row, which will create special gravitational conditions – the force of gravity on Earth will weaken. And if you guess the time and jump exactly at the second when the planets line up, you can take off. The scientist advised jumping not very high and doing it indoors, because otherwise it was possible to fly almost into outer space. Of course, the news turned out to be an April Fool’s joke, but the people who called on the radio, who experienced the “moment of weightlessness”, enthusiastically shared their impressions of the “flight” with the presenters – the power of suggestion is so great.
1. Lenin at Disneyland
In 1995, an Irish newspaper published the big news that Disney was negotiating with the Kremlin to buy Lenin’s mausoleum and body. Say, they plan to install it in the new European Disneyland, highlighting it with a strobe light and letting Ronald Reagan’s famous speech about the evil empire in the background. Merch was also included in the plans – T-shirts and badges with Soviet symbols, as well as Back in USSR burgers, were planned to recoup the costs of acquiring the mausoleum. The news also said that the main problem in the negotiations was the tomb itself. Our Country refuses to sell it. Like, democratically minded liberals proposed to leave the mausoleum empty as a symbol of the emptiness of the communist ideology, and nationalist-minded right-wingers – to make a memorial out of it in memory of the royal family. Of course, not everyone appreciated the joke, and the publication had to issue a retraction and an official apology the next day.