April Fool's hilarious history

If you believe anyone knows the origin of April Fool’s pranks, the joke’s on you.

Traditional as it may be to dupe the unwary on April 1, historians aren’t really sure how or why it started. From a variety of historical, encyclopedic, and anecdotal sources, possibilities include:

The calendar switch. Long ago spring heralded the new year, celebrated on the first of April because the equinox fell near Holy Week. The Gregorian calendar switch in the 1500s moved it to Jan. 1, but some Europeans fooled others into thinking it was still April 1, by paying them new year visits and so on. Pointless errands were an early favorite prank, whatever the origin.

Noah’s rook. English lore points to another fool’s errand — the fruitless efforts of the rook (or a raven), who left the ark to search for land during the Biblical flood.

Nature’s joke. We sure can relate to this one. Spring’s fickle weather keeps fooling us into believing the cold is finally over. But just wait five minutes.

It’s Hilari(ous). Hilaria was an ancient Greco-Roman spring festival honoring Cybele, the mother of the gods. The multi-day festivities included masquerades and jokes to celebrate the vernal equinox.

Canterbury Tales. A common but controversial idea cites a line in Chaucer’s 1392 book referring to “32 March,” allegedly Chaucer’s little joke. That may have been simply a scrivener’s error; in those days books were laboriously copied by hand.

That quirky monk. A dubious story points to the April 1 feast day of an 8th century Irish monk, Saint Amadán, who was known for eccentric behavior and often played odd pranks on fellow churchmen. He may not have started it, but at least this priest had a sense of humor.

So if it seems fishy, don’t be a “gowk.” In France, if you fall for it you’d be a “poisson d’avril” — an April fish, easily caught; French aquaria and fish shops get a lot of April 1 calls.

In Scotland an April fool is a gowk (gob or gawby in England) — a cuckoo, the sign of simpletons.

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Sholeh Patrick is a Pulitzer-winning columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Try sholeh@cdapress.com, ya gobs.