April
1
Independence
Day
Iran : 1 April 1979
April
1 : April Fools Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around
the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All
Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely
recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all
kinds of jokes and foolishness. The day is marked by the commission
of good-humoured or otherwise funny jokes, hoaxes, and other
practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family
members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc.
Traditionally,
in some countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, Australia,
and South Africa, the jokes only last until noon, and someone
who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool"
and taunted "April Fool's Day's past and gone, You're the
fool for making one." Elsewhere, such as in France, Italy,
South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil,
Canada, and the U.S., the jokes last all day.
The earliest
recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be
found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest
that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th
century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but
this theory does not explain earlier references.
|