April Fool's Day- It's Origin

Life without macaroons- acceptable.

Life without chocolate muffins-acceptable.

But O Lord ! What would we do without fools?

Quoting Shakespeare "the dulness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits" .

So it is not irrelevant celebrating April Fool's Day every year after all, is it?

As you may be surprised to know that this day has an interesting history behind it. 

In ancient cultures, particularly those of the Romans and the Hindus, New Year Day was celebrated around April 1. It is shortly after the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st).In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

However, in 1582, the old Julian calender was replaced by Pope Gregory VIII . The new calender came to be known as the Gregorian calender and it called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1.That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe. So, that's how April Fool's Day came into origin. Or might I say I've been fooling you? Well, I'm actually not.