Saturday, March 31, 2007

Happy (?) April Fool's Day...I Think?...

Ahhh...one of my FAVORITE holidays of the year. If you can call April Fool's a real holiday!


I did a little research tonight on the ol' Internet (my personal library, in which I do NOT have to remain quiet at all times!) and took a snippet from my dear friends at Wikipedia on the origins of April Fool's Day...it STILL remains a mystery to me. But, snippet is as follows:


Origin

The origin of this custom has been much disputed. Many theories have been suggested.
What seems certain is that it is in some way or other a relic of those once universal festivities held at the
vernal equinox, which, beginning on old New Year's Day, the 25th of March, ended on the 2nd of April.
It has been suggested that Europe derived its April-fooling from the French.
[2] France was one of the first nations to make January 1 officially New Year's Day (which was already celebrated by many), by decree of Charles IX. This was in 1564, even before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar (See Julian start of the year). Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair game for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April. French and Dutch references from 1508 and 1539 respectively describe April Fools' Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April.
Though the 1st of April appears to have been anciently observed in
Great Britain as a general festival, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom.
In
Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being there, as it is in many countries, a term of contempt.
In France the person fooled is known as poisson d'avril. This has been explained from the association of ideas arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the
zodiacal sign of the fish. A far more natural explanation would seem to be that the April fish would be a young fish and therefore easily caught. The French traditionally celebrated this holiday by placing dead fish on the backs of friends. Today the fish has been replaced with paper cut-out.
The
Dutch celebrate the 1st of April for other reasons. In 1572, the Netherlands were ruled by Spain's King Philip II. Roaming the region were Dutch rebels who called themselves Geuzen, after the French "gueux", meaning beggars. On 1 April, 1572, the Geuzen seized the small coastal town of Den Briel. This event was also the start of the general civil rising against the Spanish in other cities in the Netherlands. The Duke of Alba, commander of the Spanish army could not prevent the uprising. Bril is the Dutch word for glasses, so on 1 April, 1572, "Alba lost his glasses". Dutch people find this joke so hilarious they still commemorate the first of April.
Chaucer's story, the Nun's Priest's Tale, written c.1400, takes place on 32 March; that is, 1 April; it is Chanticleer and the Fox, a story of two fools.


So, just for "chits and giggles", I'm slipping in EASTER EGG #5 right here with a little word puzzle. Leave a comment if you think you know the answer/can solve the riddle to this EXTREMELY simple (no challenge there, right?!?) picture/word puzzle...I'll be certain to note your brilliance in my next post if you get it right...and also tell you the answer if the little brain teaser was too much to tackle!

Easter Egg #5: What is this?




8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Docs in a box?

R.

Funky Mango said...

Two little docs?

BRAINCHEESE said...

R:

Ah, but only in the good old US of A do we have anything referred to as a "Doc in the Box" (free-standing chain-type clinics)...this puzzle is one that is universally known in English (although I'm sure it translates to other languages, too!)...keep thinking...you're close!

LD

BRAINCHEESE said...

FUNKY:

What a SPORT you are for playing along with my silly game! Even after I shamelessly STEAL from you...you are VERY close to the answer, funky grasshopper...very close! LOL

LD

Funky Mango said...

You thief you ;-)

Anonymous said...

I just can't get it. Must be a paradox (pair of docs). R.

Anonymous said...

I just can't get it. Must be a paradox (pair of docs). R.

BRAINCHEESE said...

ROJOO:

Who da man? You da man! Too smart for your own good...

LD