ORIGINS OF “APRIL FOOL”

“April Fool” is ridicule originally intended for nations or people regarded as April “sentimental fools” for continuing the practice of celebrating New Year day on April 1 when the rests of the world were celebrating New Year’s Day on January 1.

Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

Celebrating new year day on April 1 had always been an age old tradition until 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar (invented by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.).

The new calendar called for New Year’s Day to be celebrated on Jan. 1. Many countries, however, resisted the change. In fact, some European countries held out for centuries (Scotland until 1660; Germany, Denmark, and Norway until 1700; and England until 1752).

France was the “early bird” when In 1564 France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year’s Day to Jan. 1. However, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day April 1. That was how origins of “April Fool” history was traceable to France.

Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of the calendar by 10 days and introduced a new corrective device to curb further error: century years such as 1700 or 1800 would no longer be counted as leap years, unless they were (like 1600 or 2000) divisible by 400.

If somewhat inelegant, this system is undeniably effective, and is still in official use in the United States. The Gregorian calendar year differs from the solar year by only 26 seconds—accurate enough for most mortals, since this only adds up to one day’s difference every 3,323 years.

Despite the prudence of Pope Gregory’s correction, many Protestant countries, including England, ignored the papal bull. Germany and the Netherlands agreed to adopt the Gregorian calendar in 1698; Russia only accepted it after the revolution of 1918, and Greece waited until 1923 to follow suit.

MARCH 1 IS THE NEW YEAR DAY!

 

By Latin numerals – i.e. septem(ber) for 7, octo(ber) for 8, novem(ber) for 9 and decem(ber) for 10 – February should rightly be the 12th month of the year. The fact that February was chosen to carry the leap-year adjustments reinforced the fact that February was originally meant to be the last month of the year. Therefore, March 1 is the New Year Day!

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

March: named after Mars, the god of war

MUHARRAM – This month’s name is taken from the word “Haram” which means forbidden. There was a custom in Arabia which forbade fighting during this month. This month was one of the four sacred months.

 

April: from aperire, Latin for “to open” (buds)

SAFAR - This word means “whistling of the wind”. When this name was assigned to this month, it was probably a windy time of the year.

 

May: named after Maia, the goddess of growth of plants

RABI’ AL-AWAL – The first month of spring. It seems it was spring time when the name was given.

 

June: from junius, Latin for the goddess Juno

RABI’ ATHANI – The second month of spring.

 

July: named after Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.

JUMADA AL-UWLA – The first month of summer. Jumada means “dry”.

 

August: named after Augustus Caesar in 8 B.C.

JUMADA ATHANIA – The second month of summer.

 

September: from septem, Latin for “seven”

RAJAB – Another one of the sacred months in which fighting was forbidden prior to Islam. This was one of the most respected months for the Arabs. It is also called Rajab al Fard. Fard means alone; because the other three sacred months come one after another, except this month. It comes alone not like the other 3 consecutive sacred months.

 

October: from octo, Latin for “eight”

SHA’BAN – This month’s name was derived from the word “shu’ba”, which means branch. The Arabs used to branch out during this month to look for water.

 

November: from novem, Latin for “nine”

RAMADAN – Taken from the word “ramda’ ” which means hot stones. This tells us that when this name was given, it was a very hot time of the year.

 

December: from decem, Latin for “ten”

SHAWWAL – Taken from the word “shala” which means “when the female camel gets pregnant”. When this name was given, the female camels used to get pregnant during this time of the year.

 

January: named after Janus, the god of doors and gates

DHUL-QI’DAH – Taken from the word “qa’ada” which means to sit. This is the third sacred month in which fighting was forbidden. The people also used to stop their business activities during this month and sit and prepare for the Hajj (Pilgrimage). This is also a sacred month.

 

February: named after Februalia, a time period when sacrifices were made to atone for sins

DHUL-HIJJAH – This is the last sacred month in which fighting was forbidden. This is the month in which the Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) was performed.

DAYS OF THE WEEK

Sunday (day of the sun)

Monday (day of the moon)

Tuesday (day of Tiw)

Wednesday (day of Woden)

Thursday (day of Thor)

Friday (day of Freya)

Saturday (day of the saturn)

 

Note: Tiw, Woden, Thor and Freya are the names of Anglo-Saxon or Nordic gods