It's the first of the month and that means one of the more divisive holidays is upon us: April Fools' Day.
Known mostly for practical jokes and hoaxes, April Fools' actually has a long and fascinating history. While the exact origins of the holiday are unknown, it is thought to date back hundreds of years.
Many believe its origins lie in the year 1582, when France stopped using the Julian calendar and adopted the Gregorian calendar. In the old Julian calendar, April 1 marked the start of the new year, and so those who continued to celebrate New Year's Day on the first were branded 'fools' and made the subject of ridicule.
Later on, in the 18th century, April Fools' began to be celebrated across the UK. In Scotland specifically, it was a full two-day event—the first being known as Hunt the Gowk Day, or simple Gowk Day, and the second referred to as Tailie Day.
The word 'gowk' is Scots for cuckoo, though over time was also used to mean fool. On Hunt the Gowk Day, people would traditionally be sent on false errands to deliver a letter that, once opened, would read "Dinna laugh, an' dinna smile. But hunt the gowk another mile".
After opening the message, the recipient would reportedly tell the victim that they can only help if they first make contact with another individual, before sending the victim off to someone else with an identical message. The carrier would then proceed to deliver the same message over and over until at last they figured out they were being pranked.
Traditionally, the pranks on Hunt the Gowk Day would end at midday, with anyone caught attempting a joke after this being dubbed a fool themselves.
April 2, Tailie Day, differs slightly in that most of the pranks were to do with people's backsides. Among the jokes traditionally played were the pinning of paper tails or signs reading “kick me” onto unsuspecting victims.
This April 1, be wary of friends asking you to deliver any letters. At least if someone calls you a gowk, now you know what it means.
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