The legend of April Fool's day comes from the West. It is also called April Fool's day in the West. There is no exact explanation for the origin of April Fool's day. Everyone has his own explanation for April Fool's day. So how do western countries celebrate April Fool's day? What are the customs of April Fool's day in western countries? Let's talk about the customs of April Fool's day in western countries. Let's have a look.
One view is that this custom originated from the interpretation of slang festival in India. The festival stipulates that on the festival day of March 31 every year, men, women, old and young can joke and fool each other in exchange for entertainment.
Another saying is that in Greek mythology, song was cheated by the king and led the Argo expedition. After they won the golden fleece, the king repented and refused to give way. So Argo heroes became the symbol of deceived fools, and April 1, where the golden wool constellation (Aries) is located, became Argo April Fool's day. Later Argo in Greek Ἀ& rho;& gamma;&# 974; Mistakenly known as April, this day became April Fool's day.
But it is widely said that April Fool's Day originated in France. In 1564, France first adopted the newly reformed Chronology - the Gregorian calendar (that is, the current Gregorian calendar), starting with January 1. However, some conservative people oppose this reform and stubbornly send gifts to celebrate the new year on April 1 according to the old calendar. Those who advocate reform make a mockery of the practices of these conservatives. Smart and funny people give them fake gifts and invite them to a fake reception on April 1. And call the deceived conservatives' April Fools' or 'hooked fish'.
Since then, people have fooled each other on April 1, which has become a popular custom in France. In the early 18th century, the April Fool's Day custom spread to Britain, and then was brought to the United States by early British immigrants. Today, April Fool's day has developed into an international festival.
April Fool's day in western countries
On April Fool's day in western countries, people often organize family gatherings and decorate their rooms with daffodils and daisies. The typical traditional practice is to decorate the false environment. You can decorate the room like Christmas or new year. When guests come, congratulate them on 'Merry Christmas' or' Happy New Year ', which makes people feel chic and interesting.
Most American families hold a fish feast on the festival day. The host sends out invitations to the guests before the festival. The invitations are usually small colored fish made of cardboard. The dining table is decorated with green and white. A fish tank and small fishing rods are placed in the middle. Each fishing rod is tied with a green streamer and hung with a gift for guests, or an exquisite celluloid fish, or a fish basket full of candy. It goes without saying that all the dishes at the fish feast are made of fish. There is also a custom of cooking fake dishes at the April Fool's Day party. Someone once described a typical April Fool's Day recipe: first, there was a salad with green pepper on the lettuce leaves, but after uncovering the leaves, it turned out to be an oyster cocktail; The second course is baked potatoes. In fact, there are sweet bread crumbs and fresh mushrooms below; Later dishes included roast chicken disguised as crab meat and raspberry ice cream buried under tomato salad. After dinner, guests can also take candy from the pill box.
However, the most typical activity of April Fool's Day is that we joke with each other and tease each other with lies.
In Britain, when people fool people and the other party is still confused, they will shout 'April Fool'. According to folklorists, in Britain and those countries where Festival Traditions originated from Britain, pranks can only last until 12 noon. If you tease people after noon, you will become a 'fool in April'. In Scotland, people used to call April Fool's Day 'looking for Cuckoo day', and the word 'cuckoo' in Scottish means a fool.
In some areas of France, Italy and Belgium, people like to secretly stick a paper fish behind others on this day and shout 'April Fool fish'. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, many April Fool's Day postcards were printed with the image of the fish.
In Poland, April Fool's Day is full of jokes. Not only ordinary people play pranks on each other, but also the media and some public institutions join in the ranks of pranks. On that day, poles generally avoid holding important activities. An alliance concluded in Poland on April 1, 1683, in order to avoid the "sensitive" day of April 1, specially pushed the contracting time forward one day, that is, March 31.