Spaghetti trees! Are you a noodle, fish, or fool?

Happy April First!

In 1957, A BBC news program celebrated a bumper spaghetti crop in Switzerland with a 3 minute special airing April 1st. The program claimed that due to the eradication of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, farms in Switzerland were having unprecedented harvest. And it showed clips of Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti (as pictured below).

This is widely considered the most elaborate hoax ever televised or put forth by a reputable news establishment. And it does make me chuckle. I mean, the painstaking effort to place each individual noodle on the tree? Come on! Hilarious!

While fond of a good-natured trick myself, this article is falsehood free. No tricks today, because no one subscribed to our newsletter can be considered a fool.  Thanks for reading, you guys are the best!

As I thought about this holiday, I wondered about its inception. Here’s what I found:

It was 1582, and France made the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This change put New Year’s celebrations on January 1st. But before the change, the Julian calendar had celebrated the new year at the spring equinox, on or around April 1st.

People who were slow to make the change held a New Year’s celebration on April 1st anyway (I get it, change is hard). Some persisted in their Spring new year celebrations for years. These individuals became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April Fools.”

Pranksters would place paper fish on the backs of these fools, referring to them as “poisson d’avril” or “April fish” because they were gullible and easily caught, like young fish are.

Of course, not all historians agree on this as the official origin for April Fool’s Day.

An ancient Roman holiday called Hilaria featured pranksters dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates, prompting many historians to declare Hilaria the likely origin.

Some believe April Fool’s Day is tied to the Spring equinox, and pays tribute to Mother Nature, who fools us with rapidly changing and unpredictable Spring weather.

There is even a theory (not held by biblical scholars and historians) that April Fool’s is an ancient Jewish custom which holds in remembrance Noah sending out a dove before the flood water had receded. It was celebrated by sending fools on useless errands, as Noah had sent the dove.

And celebrations are held all around the world today. They all involve telling a lie to trick or enacting a prank. But what the “fool” is called varies. Here’s what fools are called around the world on this day:

Scotland– the gowk, a cuckoo or foolish person. The traditional prank on “gowking day” was once to ask someone to deliver a sealed, urgent message. The recipient would silently read the letter, then ask the messenger to deliver it to another person. The letter read “Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile.” Ireland used a similar letter delivering prank.

Germany– shout “April, April” at the fool.

Armenia– reveal the prank by shouting “april mek” which means “April 1st.”

Italy, France, and Belgium– “April fish,” maintaining the tradition born in 1582. Chocolate fish are even sold in France on April 1st.

Lebanon– shout “First of April lie” to the one you’ve made a fool of.

Turkey– “Bir Nasan” or “1 April” reveals the verbal prank.

Spanish-speaking Countries– a traditional saying about this day is “the day when donkeys go where they must not go.”

England– "noodle", "gob", "gobby", or "noddy" will all do to name the fool.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the history of April Fool’s Day, and about its practice around the world. If you are looking for a new children’s book, we’ve got some great ones, and that’s no joke! Go to whitelakepress.com to see!

And, don’t miss entering our Build Your Child’s Library Giveaway, ending in 15 days! (Click the link below).

Warm Regards,

Miriam Monette

Co-Founder, White Lake Press