What are the origins and customs of April Fool's Day?

The origin of April Fools' Day:

1. In 1582, King Charles IX of France decided to adopt a new reformed calendar: the Gregorian calendar (the universal Gregorian calendar), with New Year's Day In order to start a new year, April 1st was changed from the past. However, some conservatives oppose this reform and still send New Year's gifts and celebrate the New Year on this day according to the old calendar. Those who advocated reform made a mockery of these practices of the conservatives, giving them fake gifts and inviting them to fake parties. From then on, teasing people on this day became popular. When a person is deceived, the person playing tricks on him will shout loudly: "POISSON D'AVRIL", which means "April Prank". Smart and funny people gave them fake gifts on April 1st and invited them to a fake reception. And the conservatives who were deceived were called "April fools" or "baited fish". From then on, people fooled each other on April 1, which became a popular custom in France. At the beginning of the 18th century, the custom of April Fool's Day was spread to Britain, and then brought to the United States by early immigrants from Britain.

2. According to research by British historians: the origin of "April Fool's Day" comes from the Indian Buddhist saying "reach the other shore". The British Encyclopedia records: "April Fool's Day" is a holiday of lies that first appeared after the religious revolution in the 15th century AD. At that time, King Philip II of Spain once established an "Inquisition". Anyone who was not a Catholic would be considered a heretic and would be sentenced to death on April 1st every year. The subjects felt very frightened, so they took pleasure in telling lies and making fun every day to dilute their fear and hatred of the ruler. Later, it was used for a long time and evolved into today's "April Fool's Day".

3. According to legend, about 1,650 years after Adam, the ancestor of mankind, God destroyed the world with a flood, but only Noah, a descendant of Adam’s third son Huide, was left. A man-made boat saved the lives of a whole family. After the flood receded a little, Noah sent out a white dove to find a piece of land after the flood receded, because this day happened to be April 1st. Therefore, later generations believe that doing a meaningless thing on this day is like a white dove doing a white job and acting stupidly, which is the origin of "April Fool's Day".

4. According to Christians: "April Fool's Day" is to commemorate the day of Jesus' crucifixion. Before Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was forced to run around. Later generations celebrated April 1st as this day. The commemoration of his innocent death actually has a vigilant meaning.

April Fool’s Day customs:

1. Fish feast: The fish feast on April 1st is also unique. Invitations to fish feasts are usually made of small colorful fish made of cardboard. The dining table is decorated with green and white colors, with a fish tank and small and exquisite fishing rods placed in the middle. A green streamer is tied to each fishing rod, and a gift for the guests is hung, such as a delicate celluloid fish or a bag full of candies. fish basket. It goes without saying that all the dishes at the fish feast are made of fish.

2. Making fake dishes: At April Fool’s Day parties, there is also a custom of making fake dishes. Someone once described a typical April Fool's Day recipe: first a "salad" with lettuce leaves sprinkled with green pepper, but when the leaves were uncovered, it turned out to be an oyster cocktail underneath; the second course was "roasted potatoes." , actually underneath were sweet bread crumbs and fresh mushrooms; the dishes that followed included roast chicken disguised as crabmeat and raspberry ice cream buried under a tomato salad. After the meal, guests can also enjoy candy from the pill box.

3. Making fun of each other: The most typical activity of April Fool's Day is for everyone to make fun of each other and tease each other with lies. Some people leave their wallets tied with thin strings on the street and pull the other end of the string in the dark. Once someone picks up the wallet, they yank it away unexpectedly. Others put bricks under broken hats in the middle of the road, and then waited to see who would kick them. Children will tell their parents that there is a hole in their schoolbag or there is a black spot on their face. When the adults leaned over to take a look, they shouted "April Fool". He smiled and ran away. In short, every April Fool's Day, zoos and aquariums will receive many calls to Mr. Fish (fish) and Mr. Tiger (tiger), which often causes the staff to cut off the phone lines in order to reduce trouble.

In today's society, the pace of life is faster, and people's pressure is also increasing. April Fool's Day is a good channel to vent emotions and relieve stress in a humorous and relaxed way. However, it should be noted that deception, fooling, and tricking must be done in a harmless manner and do not involve personal attacks on others. Otherwise, because of the joke, some damage has been caused to other people's lives, reputations, property, etc., and serious consequences have occurred. Even if it is an unintentional mistake on April Fool's Day, it will be punished by law.

April Fool's Day, also known as April Fool's Day, is a traditional folk festival in Western countries, scheduled on April 1 every year. On this day, everyone, regardless of gender, age or nationality, can joke with each other and deceive each other. Therefore, the day is full of joy, but after 12 noon, you can no longer joke. This seems to be an established rule.