April Fools Day

April begins with a day of fun and jokes - April Fool's Day. No one really knows when this custom began but it has been kept for hundreds of years. 

  The First of April, some do say

  Is set apart for All Fools Day; 

  But why the people call it so,
  Not I, nor they themselves do know.

Cultural Traditions

In England, where tricks and pranks are only permissable during the morning hours of All Fool's Day, the victim is known as a "noodle." In the Cornwall region of England, an April Fool is also known as a "gowk" (as in Scotland) or a "guckaw." If a child is successful in playing a trick on another, then it is usual for the perpetrator to taunt: "Fool, fool, the guckaw!." On the other hand, if the victim fails to fall for the trick, then the retort is: "The gowk and the titlene sit on a tree...you're a gowk as well as me!" A "titlene" is a hedge sparrow. In the County of Cheshire in England, an April Fool is an "April Gawby," sometimes referred to as a "gobby" or "gob," while in Devon, unlike the remainder of England, pranks are allowed in the afternoon and the custom of pinning an inscription such as "Please kick me" to the coat-tails of an unsuspecting victim is popular (again, much as it is in Scotland). In Devon, however, this is known as "Tail-Pipe Day." In the Lake District area of England, an April Fool is an "April Noddy" and at the end of the day, it is customary to chant: "April Noddy's past and gone...You're the fool an' I'm none."

In Scotland, where the tradition is celebrated over the course of forty-eight hours, April Fool's Day is also known as "April Gowk," "Gowkie Day" or "Hunt the Gowk." "Gowk" is Scottish for "cuckoo" (an emblem of simpletons) and thus, a "gowk" is the butt of any practical joke. The second day of the Scottish April Fool's custom is devoted exclusively to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. This is known as "Taily Day" and the origin of the ever-popular "Kick Me" sign is likely traceable to this observance. The same custom takes place in the Orkney Isles (located just off the Scottish Mainland), where this area's "Tailing Day" is also celebrated on April 2.