You know what day it is, so I won't even try
posted by sooyup
on
Daily trivia,
Pictures of Emm
The All Fool's Day tradition probably began in France during the Sixteenth Century, when the beginning of the New Year was observed on April and was celebrated as New Year is today with parties and dancing late into the night. In 1582, however, Pope Gregory introduced a revised calendar for the Christian world wherein the New Year fell on January 1. Communications being what they were in the Sixteenth Century, it took some time, possibly even years, for many people to even hear word of the change, while others obstinately refused to accept the reform. So in many areas New Year's Day continued to be celebrated on the first day of April. People who had accepted the new calendar played tricks on those who had not, and referred to the unfortunate victims of such pranks as "April Fools," sending them on a "fool's errand" (an invitation to a non-existent party, for example) or attempting to make them believe that something which was true was actually false. The practice evolved into an annual tradition, eventually migrating to England and Scotland during the Eighteenth Century, being introduced to the American colonies by British and French settlers.
The All Fool's Day tradition probably began in France during the Sixteenth Century, when the beginning of the New Year was observed on April and was celebrated as New Year is today with parties and dancing late into the night. In 1582, however, Pope Gregory introduced a revised calendar for the Christian world wherein the New Year fell on January 1. Communications being what they were in the Sixteenth Century, it took some time, possibly even years, for many people to even hear word of the change, while others obstinately refused to accept the reform. So in many areas New Year's Day continued to be celebrated on the first day of April. People who had accepted the new calendar played tricks on those who had not, and referred to the unfortunate victims of such pranks as "April Fools," sending them on a "fool's errand" (an invitation to a non-existent party, for example) or attempting to make them believe that something which was true was actually false. The practice evolved into an annual tradition, eventually migrating to England and Scotland during the Eighteenth Century, being introduced to the American colonies by British and French settlers.
