WHAT TO DO, IT'S APRIL FOOLS

As I sat down to write this months post, I was beset with so many options for a post this month. Today is Easter Sunday, and April Fools Day. April is national poetry month. And lest we forget, April is also known as the 'growing' month, the month where dormant plants begin to show signs of growth.

April 1 is also national one-cent day and national sourdough day. You can view a list of national days in April here: April National Holiday calendar

So let's see if I can find a way to incorporate some of the options for this day and month.

I will start with Helen (Hunt) Jackson's sonnet April:

No days such honored days as these! While yet 

Fair Aphrodite reigned, men seeking wide 

For some fair thing which should forever bide 

On earth, her beauteous memory to set 

In fitting frame that no age could forget, 

Her name in lovely April's name did hide, 

And leave it there, eternally allied 

To all the fairest flowers Spring did beget. 

And when fair Aphrodite passed from earth, 

Her shrines forgotten and her feasts of mirth, 

A holier symbol still in seal and sign, 

Sweet April took, of kingdom most divine, 

When Christ ascended, in the time of birth 

Of spring anemones, in Palestine. 

In this short poem, most of what makes April special was covered. I also confess, I love poetry and Helen's work in particular. I hope you don't mind.

But that pesky April fools day may be a problem. I've never been one to pull pranks on people, it just seems mean to me. Still, I need to find a way to honor the spirit of the concept. There is the question, where did it come from? I confess the truth is like finding a particular Mary Smith in history; there are just too many to chose from. So, I shall share what I believe is the true story:

As March winds blew across the land

The powers that were said this is bad

We need to give the people hope

So they sent the sun out at a lope

People praised the warming day

As April arrived with bright rays

Then as all started a joyous dance

One fool cursed and looked askance

The bright sky darkened fast

The people cried, their party past

And know you know the story true

It came about because of a fool.

by Doris McCraw

(APRIL FOOLS *GRIN*)

May everyone have a wonderful day, week, month and year. Keep your mind and fingers busy for there are readers to be found and kept happy. I wish everyone a Happy Easter, April Fool's Day and while you're at it, enjoy a piece of sourdough bread for me.

I will leave you with one last poem by Emily Dickinson, friend and contemporary of Helen (Hunt) Jackson:

The Robin is the One
That interrupt the Morn
With hurried—few—express Reports
When March is scarcely on—

The Robin is the One
That overflow the Noon
With her cherubic quantity—
An April but begun—

The Robin is the One
That speechless from her Nest
Submit that Home—and Certainty
And Sanctity, are best 

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Member of National League of American Pen Women,

Women Writing the West,

Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

A Day Dedicated To Foolishness

How many times have you fallen for the old April Fool’s tricks like, “Ohmagosh, you have an earring missing!” Then the person laughs like crazy as you go into a panic searching the ground for that expensive earring your husband or boyfriend gave you only to find you have both earrings safely attached to your ears?

Or, maybe you’re the jokester who prepares days in advance of April first thinking up gags and tricks to play on your friends. I was one of those. I tried everything from “your shoe laces are untied,” to, “Are those your panties around your ankles?” Silly stuff, but fun. You had to get your gags in early before others got there first and the surprise was gone. 

So, as I was contemplating my gags for this April Fool day, I wondered,  how did the whole April Fool’s Day tricks get started in the first place? Well, I went on an investigation to find out the answer. To my surprise, I found no certain answers to the history of April Fool, but I did find some possibilities.

According to David Johnson and Shmuel Ross, it could have been related to the change of seasons. Ever heard the term “spring fever”?  Others believe it may have been attributed to a change in the calendar. Here’s one I didn’t know for certain: the beginning of the New Year used to be celebrated on April first in some cultures. Who knew? The New Year was celebrated at the time of the vernal equinox which we know as the first day of spring on March 21. In Medieval times, most of Europe celebrated the Feast of Annunciation on March 25. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (to be called the Gregorian Calendar, of course) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar would make January 1 as the New Year. I guess we’re still holding on to that one. So naturally, those that accepted the new calendar liked to give the ones still following the old calendar a hard time by sending them on a “fool’s errand.”

Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University, has another explanation for the history of April Fool’s Day. It goes like this:  At the time of Constantine’s reign, a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that he could do a better job of running his empire. Constantine thought it was funny and decided to make the court jester, Krugel, king for a day. During his one day as king, Krugel declared April first as a day for absurdity. Professor Boskin said that, in those days, jesters were actually very wise men. It was the roll of jesters to put things in perspective through humor. I can understand that concept. How many times have we seen people make drama out of nothing and then the Late Night comics (our form of court jester) bring us back down to Earth with a funny comment on the matter and make us laugh at the absurdity of it all? Prof. Boskin’s theory was printed by the Associated Press in 1983. But here’s the good part: He made the whole thing up and sent the AP on a “Fool’s Errand.” Loved this explanation the best.

Here’s one last theory:
 

The French call April 1 Poisson d'Avril, or "April Fish." French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is discovered.

I wonder if this is where the phrase, “There’s something fishy going on here,” comes from.

Have a wonderful and very fun day celebrating April Fool’s Day, y’all. I’m off to torment my friends and family with my tricks and gags.

 Sarah J. McNeal, Author

Sarah J. McNeal Updated Bio

Sarah McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery, Victory Tales Press, Prairie Rose Publications and Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press, imprints of Prairie Rose Publications. She welcomes you to her website and social media:

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