The world is full of reasons to be serious. Poverty. Disease. Famine. War. When people have trouble choosing a good reason to be serious, they settle for one of their own. People argue over religion, over politics, over sports, and over nothing at all. And as this contentiousness has taken place throughout recorded history, an annual day of relief from this constant state of sobriety has been a widespread and celebrated tradition. Possible Origins April 1st was close to the New Year in multiple ancient cultures. From ancient Hindus and Romans who celebrated this time as the beginning of the year, to medieval Europe, which celebrated the New Year on March 25th (The Feast of Annunciation), April 1st was long considered the year’s beginning. So one hypothesis as to the origin of April Fool’s Day is that once the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar, those who continued to hold the belief that April 1st was the beginning of a new year were considered fools. The aforementioned explanation may be foolish in and of itself. The Gregorian calendar wasn’t established in England until 1752, by which time April Fool’s Day had long been an established festivity. Geoffrey Chaucer, also known as [...]
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