Celebrate the History of April Fool's Day

April Fools Day is believed to date back to the Roman festival of Hilaria, traditionally held on March 25 (after the vernal equinox). The festival was held in honor of Cybele, the mother of the gods. All kinds of games and amusements were allowed on this day, including masquerades and imitations of high-ranking officials.

In Medieval times, April Fools Day was celebrated as the Festival of Fools, held on December 28. The central theme was the brief bestowing of power, dignity, and impunity onto someone in a subordinate position (the "fool"). This usually involved masquerading an individual as the Lord of Misrule, a mock position equivalent to the power of a pope or bishop. Participants would consecrate the individual with various ceremonies and silly titles, with the ceremonies often mocking the performance of high-ranking officials. It was accompanied by various songs and dances. This festival was finally forbidden by the Council of Basel in 1431, as many church officials saw the festival as encouraging the view of a corrupt church. One popular portrayal of the festival can be found in Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831).

Like Valentine's Day, Geoffrey Chaucer played a major role in popularizing April 1 around the beginning of the fifteenth century. In his Canterbury Tales, the Nun's Priest's Tale is set on "Syn March began thritty days and two," which readers mistook to mean March 32 (April 1). There is some debate by modern scholars whether this was a copying error or intentionally done by Chaucer. In the tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox, leading to associations of April 1 with tricksters and pranks. Chaucer's tale was followed by many literary references during the 1500s to foolish errands done on April 1. The first reference of April 1 as a Fools Day comes from John Aubrey in 1686. Following Chaucer's popularization of the holiday, many western countries developed their own traditions. One popular tradition, poisson d'avril from France, involves attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed.

April Fools Day also has origins in non-western countries. Middle Easterners (Iranians, in modern terms) are known to have held their own "Fools Day" on the 13th day of the Persian new year ("Norouz"), which is held on April 1 or 2. References to prank traditions in the region date back to 536 BCE when Sizdah Bedar was held. In Korea, under the Joseon dynasty (founded in 1392 and lasting 500 years), the royal court was allowed to lie and fool each other on the first snowy day of the year.

Growing up, April Fool's Day was always special in my house - it was my father's birthday, and thus a day of trying to outwit him as much as possible. The following are various ideas for celebrating the holiday, some of which can be adapted for birthday use

1. Dinner in Reverse. Set the table as if for dinner, but once everyone is assembled, serve dessert first! The trick here is not to acknowledge that anything is out of the ordinary - act as if dessert first is completely normal. (For those parents who detest encouraging such habits, I suggest making a meatloaf cake - bake the meatloaf in a cake pan and frost it with mashed potatoes. Add some candles, and you have a birthday cake for dinner!)

2. Punk Rock the Holiday. For parents whose kids think they "just don't get it" (this is great for parents of teenagers!), do the following early in the morning or the night before, while the kids are sleeping. Get temporary tattoos and put them all over your body (you can also buy tattoo sleeves for your arms). Get temporary hair dye in an outrageous color (like hot pink or neon blue) and add some flair to your hair. You can also accessorize with fake nose rings and earrings, and dress all in black. Again, the trick is to act as if this is perfectly normal. (This is great if you make breakfast for the family - they'll walk in and have no idea what is going on!)

3. If you are heavy milk drinkers, put a few drops of food coloring in the milk (and shake it) the night before. Anyone who likes milk in their cereal will be in for a big surprise!

4. At work, cover the laser part of your coworkers mouse with scotch tape (when they aren't at their desk). The mouse won't work with the tape over it and they'll start unhooking all the cords before realizing to turn it over! For extra spice, write "April Fools!" on the piece of tape!

5. You can drive someone absolutely crazy by pulling the nonprank prank. Start leaving hints the day before April Fools that your victim "better watch his back" and "be careful where he steps." Throughout the day send cryptic text messages like "I wouldn't do my laundry today if I were you." Your victim will spend all day anticipating a huge prank that never happens.
6. For breakfast, put a dab of vanilla yogurt and a canned apricot half positioned in the center, toasted pound cake slices, and sour candy strips on a plate. It looks like a healthy breakfast but tastes so much better! (This is great for kids, who will be confused at first and then love it!)

What April Fools pranks have worked for you (or against you) in the past?