APRIL FOOLS DAY NOW AND THEN

APRIL FOOLS DAY NOW AND THEN : By Bhargobi Khaund

April Fools Day (sometimes called All Fools' Day) is an annual celebration in some European and Western countries commemorated on April 1 by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. If we look back at the history times they believe that the day originated from the Greco-Roman festival Hilaria, which was celebrated on March 25. The festival revered the ancient Greek Mother of Gods, Cybele. People participated in parades and jokes on this day as it celebrated the first day after the vernal equinox.

The other possible reason behind celebrating April fool’s day goes back to 16th century France, when the Christian world switched to the Gregorian calendar and thus the New Year's Day was moved from April 1 to January 1. Some people continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1st, they were referred to as "April fools" and other people played pranks on them.

While the origin of this day is not known for sure, people across the world celebrate it in different ways. In France, April 1st is known as "Poisson d'Avril" and children fool their friends on this day by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs without the latter’s knowledge; whereas in Scotland, April Fools' is celebrated for two days. In Canada and England, tricks are played on each other only in the morning of April 1st!

Well, the origin of April Fool day is still yet to be known but I too celebrated April fools Day when I was in my childhood days. I used to call from the Public Call Office (PCO) booth on my home's old landline Telephone and my mother used to pick up the call and all I say is "Hello, Your daughter is been kidnapped by us and you have to pay me a ransom of 100 rupees." By hearing that my mother always say "Happy April Fool Day beta. I know it’s you my girl. Well no one can win with mothers.

I played many pranks though. Like of putting sugar in salt bottle. The classic cream biscuits and toothpaste trick. This is an old trick, but it never fails! All I deed is replacing the cream in the cream cookies with toothpaste and place the cookies back in the jar or plate. And i offer them to my family at tea time, and wait till they take each of the cookies. It was so much fun to watch.

This are some pranks and jokes i made in early 90's but now everything has changed. Now it has become digitalized. Old telephones are replaced with Smartphones. And pranks also changed into messages and jokes. We got prank calls or else messages.

Digitalized world had really changed the aura. Reactions are only got in mobile phones and text messages. As if that connection is being lost.