The first of April in all countries of the world celebrates one of the funniest and most fun holidays. On this day, people play pranks on each other with impunity and kindly, or simply seek to amuse others. This holiday has several names: Day of humor, laughter or fool. But why April 1 is April Fool's Day? What is the story of this fun day? Why is it celebrated all over the world and what is the reason for this?
Fun Day Story
Love for jokes and jokes is inherent in people regardless of religion, nationality, social status and cultural differences.
The mystery of the origin of the feast day of laughter is still not disclosed. However, there are a lot of versions. Here are some of the most common ones:
- The history of the holiday dates back to ancient Rome. Celebrated it in mid-February and called the Day of fools.
- The Celts also had a tradition of celebrating April Fool's Day and celebrated it on April 1, and dedicated it to the god of laughter and fun, Luda.
- In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII moved the celebration of the new year from April 1 to January 1 . However, some people did not know about it and continued to celebrate it in the old way. They began to call them "April Fools." So there was April Fool's Day.
- Many nations had a pagan tradition of celebrating the beginning of spring. And she is a fickle lady and very changeable. Therefore, the rites were very similar: they wore clothes inside out, put on unpaired shoes, smeared with paints, wore ridiculous costumes.
- According to another version, the Day of Fun and Laughter was first celebrated in France. The expression "April fish" is mentioned in poems and poems in the 16th century. For example, the diary of the eminent nobleman (1539) tells how he played his servants, sending them to roam around the city and look for ointment for worm knees. The poor people went around the whole city, but didn’t find anything.
- Those who managed to play a trick on the French, called the "April fish". But they themselves do not know exactly where this expression came from. According to one version, a joker threw smoked fish into the Seine. In April, there is usually no bite, but stubborn fishermen still hope for a miracle. And it happened - smoked, but still a fish.
- There is a version that the king allegedly tried a fish dish on New Year's Day and he liked it so much that the next year he demanded that he serve the same dish to the table. But there was no necessary fish, and the cook prepared a very similar one. The king was so angry that he accused everyone of deceit. The courtiers, in order not to fall out of favor, assured him with one voice that this was the same fish.
Currently, in France, the most successful joke is considered if you quietly pin a paper fish onto a person’s back. You can go with it all day until you notice and remove it. Outsiders and do not think to help someone who "caught the hook."
By the end of the 17th century, the Scots and the British, and then the whole of Europe, took over the day of laughter or fool.
The British came up with their own legend. Allegedly, in ancient times, there was a custom: which of the rulers will travel first on the earth, to that it will belong. But the villagers are a freedom-loving people. They developed real plans for how to frighten away the king. When he and his retinue approached the village, shepherds drove cattle to the roofs, women cooked food without fire, lumberjacks tried to cut down the tree with knives. Seeing such a picture, the king did not really want to join the village of "fools" and left on his own, and the inhabitants remained free from taxes and taxes.
April 1 at the Slavs
In early April, our ancestors celebrated Brownie Day. It was believed that the owner of the house after hibernation woke up in a bad mood and was very harmful: he confused the manes of horses, scattered flour, and hid objects. To appease him, people tried to cheer him up. Children and adults made themselves full of fools and stupid people: they put footboards on each other, put on strange clothes, and deceived each other kindly. Therefore, scientists believe that Fool's Day among the ancient Slavs appeared independently (not from Europe). But with the spread of Christianity, old traditions began to be forgotten.
Tradition of celebration in Russia
A cheerful and good Day of laughter returned to Russia during the reign of Peter the Great. After traveling through Europe, the king decided to make many innovations "according to the Western example." In 1703, a performance was to take place in Moscow, to which a huge number of spectators gathered. The curtain opened, and on the stage there was a huge inscription: "The first of April - I do not believe anyone!". This joke of the actors really liked Peter the Great, and it is believed that from this time in Russia they began to celebrate April Fool's Day.
At present, colleagues, friends and relatives are trying to play each other on this day. Jokes are sometimes even very witty, there are no general norms and rules, the main thing is that they do not offend a person. All draws should be a joy.
The simplest draw: “Your back is all white!” - still leads in popularity and continues to work.
On this day, concerts, KVN, and humor are held throughout the country. All media do not stand aside, so on this day it is better not to take the news seriously and not retell it to others.
Tradition of celebration in Europe
- This holiday has been celebrated in France since the 16th century. The most famous joke dates back to 1986. An article appeared on the pages of the Parisienne newspaper about the decision of the Paris municipal authority to dismantle the Eiffel Tower. Allegedly, they are going to transport it to the Marne River Valley (30 kilometers from the capital), where Disneyland will be built. The article described in detail the work, how and what will be done. It was planned to assemble the tower in a horizontal position, and then raise it using cranes. Everything about everything should have taken about 6 months. The Parisians began to besiege the editors, the phones were torn. Only the next day, the editors admitted to the readers that all this was an April Fools ’fish.
- In Austria and Germany, April 1 was considered an unlucky day. The people of these countries believed that the child born on this day would be unhappy, since it was on April 1 that Judas was born, and that day Satan was overthrown to hell from heaven. It got to the point that on April 1 no one was congratulated on their birthday, and it was not customary to wish joy and laughter on that day all the more.
- In Finland, the holiday is relatively young. It is connected with the old rural custom during difficult field work to entrust children with some comic tasks. For example, they were asked to run away to neighbors for a non-existent, but supposedly very necessary tool. The child came, and they allegedly recalled that they had given it to relatives and sent him to them. And so it lasted until someone pitied the baby and told him that it was an April Fools' joke.
- In England, fooling around only until noon. Sew sleeves to each other, compose various kinds of fables and so on.
- The Italians, like the French, call April Fools' Day “April Fools” and imperceptibly decorate paper fish to passers-by, friends, relatives and colleagues.
- The only city in the world where April 1 is an official holiday is Odessa, the birthplace of jokes and great comedians. The city that day rages from all sorts of fun activities. The culmination of the holiday is a carnival procession.
- The Netherlands always jokes about third parties. Fables are written about renaming planets in honor of celebrities, about the arrival of famous politicians, stars, amazing and incredible marriages, scientific discoveries and so on.
- In Scotland, they joke for two days in a row: on April 1 - on any topic, on the 2nd day all draws concern only the fifth point of a person, this day is also called Tail Day, and the one who managed to be played is called the “April Cuckoo”.
April 1st in America
Americans play each other sometimes very cruelly. Pupils inform classmates about the cancellation of classes, students transfer hours to roommates. On the day of "happy laughter" here is very common "toilet humor." When making fun with rubber souvenirs in the form of waste. They can appear in a bag, on a table, in soup, sometimes they even exude a characteristic smell. Do not put such a souvenir to a colleague on a chair on this day is considered an unforgivable omission. Americans can make fun of a colleague by saying that he was fired, or inform him that someone had died. In general, the humor of the overseas continent is very peculiar.
Interesting and incredible jokes
On the Day of Laughter and Smiles, you can hear the most unlikely news and take them for the truth. For example, many years ago, an article was published in the media that a mammoth was settled in one of Moscow zoos. He was allegedly found frozen in Chukotka, thawed and sent to a zoo. All readers believed this joke, they discussed the news everywhere, and one teacher even brought a class from Siberia to enjoy this “treasure”.
In 1990, another interesting note was published that the poet A. Blok never actually existed. Everyone, even literary critics, was led to this duck, they entered into heated debates with the editors.
In the UK in 1860, the most massive rally took place in London. Residents of the capital were invited to the solemn washing of the albino lions living in the Tower. Thousands of people came to see this action, which was to become traditional.
It should be noted that England is very fond of mass rallies. In 1957, a documentary film about a rich harvest of spaghetti was shown on the Air Force channel. People believed this news, began to call the studio with requests to sell them seeds.
Patrick More in 1976 told the Air Force that on the morning of April 1, a state of zero gravity will be established on Earth for several minutes, and people will be able to fly in the air. After this joke, for several months the newspapers were full of descriptions of the sensations and feelings of people who soared in the air.
In 1980, news spread around London that authorities wanted to upgrade Big Ben and replace the mechanical hands with an electronic dial. Mass hysteria began, which continued for a long time.
The most famous online pranks
Do not miss the opportunity to laugh and joke on the Internet. Here are some pranks:
On April 1, 2007, a picture of a fairy corpse appeared on the Internet, which was uploaded by the British Bein D. Thousands of people from different countries believed this photo. Many still consider the body in the picture to be real, and that it really belongs to the fairy, despite the fact that Bane admitted many times that this is a joke.
The Google Map project announced in 2014 that it would award the title “Pokemon Master” to those users who would catch the largest number of these creatures on April 1.
In the same year, YouTube made fun of its users, saying that all the videos they have are fake.
On the main page of Yandex, one could beat flies.
Draw Examples
The main rule of jokes on April Fool's Day is harmlessness. They must create a relaxed atmosphere and arouse positive emotions. Here are some interesting examples of jokes:
- To say that a bug, a spider or a cockroach crawls on clothes.
- Tape the bottom of the optical mouse with tape.
- Move all hours 1 hour ahead.
- On the door of the dining room hang an ad: "All drinks as a gift."
- Fill the tube of toothpaste with cream, and replace the cream with toothpaste.
- Coat the soap with colorless varnish.
- Plant a toy mouse in the grits.
- Ask to buy striped paint, midshipman in his own juice, cock eggs and so on.
You can come up with a lot of jokes, the main thing is that they do not insult and do not offend a person. Jokes should cause laughter and fun.
How to organize and spend April Fool's Day for children
Entertaining and fun activities are organized in childcare facilities. Teachers and educators on April Fool's Day are creative in organizing fun activities. In kindergartens, the morning begins with “humorous exercises”. As a rule, they organize all kinds of contests: “Funny painted face”, “The funniest story”, “The funniest smile”. Then, according to the scenario “Laughter Day”, there are either funny discos, or clown performances, or funny walks on the street. In the afternoon, teachers conduct comic outdoor games.
On schools that day, as a rule, they conduct either humorous quizzes, or KVN, or funny concerts.
Health and Laughter
Laughter has a positive and beneficial effect on human health. There is a science that studies the effect of laughter on well-being - geotology.
Laughter produces a hormone in the body - endorphin, which relieves pain and is responsible for our mood. Doctors consider laughter a harmless drug that can cause euphoria for a long time.
It is scientifically proven that children laugh about 400 times a day, while adults - only 15. Women, according to statistics, laugh more often than men.
Doctors believe that laughter helps to lose weight, so 15 minutes of laughter replace 30 minutes of physical exercise.
Laughter trains the lungs. During laughter, breathing is activated, more oxygen enters the brain, and immunity is enhanced.
In Germany and Austria there are clown doctors who, with games and laughter, help treat seriously ill children.
In America, there is a special medical area - laughter therapy. In hospitals, laughter rooms have been created in which patients watch comedies, performances by comedians and comedians. This practice has a positive effect on patients returning to their desire to live and resist the disease.
Conclusion
On April Fool's Day, it is not customary to give gifts all over the world, except for joke souvenirs and playful presents. The whole celebration comes down to banter and fooling everyone. Even the media participate in the draws, publishing “sensational” news and incredible discoveries. Do not be offended by jokes, it is better to laugh with the joker and tease him in return.
Sincere laughter is the key to health and happiness!