As a child, I couldn’t wait until April 1st when I could feel justified in committing down right rude practical jokes and sneaky acts of mischief all in the name of a good laugh…or cry. After all, April Fools Day only came once a year, and when it did, oh what fun could be had! Now, thirty years, two children, and a 70 hour work week later, the same tricks and stunts seem to require a little more effort and a lot less ingenuity in order to generate half the tear filled laughter received as a youth. It’s not that the thrill is gone, just the energy required to create it.
I am not sure where this prank filled holiday originated, or even how really. Research shows a possible link to an Iranian celebration dating as far back as 536BC called Sizdah Bedar. Translated as ‘getting rid of thirteen’, this festival of ‘Joy and Solidarity’ is celebrated on the 13th day of the Persian new year (Norouz), and the month of Farvardin (April 1 or 2). It is the oldest recorded prank-tradition in the world still alive today and is celebrated by pulling practical jokes and telling little white lies on one another, giving it the name, the ‘thirteenth lie’. In modern times Iranians have created a ritual of going to parks, having picnics, and focusing on the cycle of life and love. With all the stress and strife fed to us on the news, who would’ve thought? And while this info offers more clarity to the possible origins of America’s April Fools Holiday, I am even more perplexed by the concept of the ’13th lie’. But that is another article for another day.
In the meantime, in some countries like the UK, Australia and South Africa, the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an “April Fool”. Elsewhere, such as in Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, and here in the U.S., the jokes last all day. Each prank with the intended aim to embarrass the gullible even more than the one before, no holiday creates more friends and foes than this one. So happy April Fools Day, in whatever way you choose to celebrate. If it can generate a smile, a chuckle, or a laugh between two, all the better.
