April Fools

The day is upon us. April Fools' Day . April 1. It isn't a Hallmark day as such - but if it is celebrated by South Park , it must be a part of our present culture [said with tongue in cheek - hehe]. It is typically marked by hoaxes and practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, neighbors, and the like, with the aim being to embarrass those gullible enough to believe the prank. Some of these hoaxes are certainly more elaborate than others. Fortunately, the jokes are only supposed to last until noon!

I am sure we've all fallen prey to a merry prankster at some time during our lives.

But what is truly humorous is the origin of April Fool's Day. In a bygone era in France, April 1 was counted as the first day of the year. When King Charles IX changed the first day of the year to January 1 (by switching to the Gregorian calendar), some people stayed with April 1. It was those that continued to celebrate the first day of the New Year on April 1 that were called "April Fools".

Leave it to the French to go their own way!

I guess there are always some people that march to the beat of their own foolish drummer. And of course, much of this has a strong essence of urban legend.

I do think there are signs that there must be a strange day upon us tomorrow - because tonight, the Baylor men's hoops team advanced to the NIT finals! Is there something awry in the universe as April Fools' Day approaches?

With any luck, the Conficker virus won't wreak havoc on the day - definitely not a very funny prank in anyone's book.

Enjoy the day ahead - and no matter how absurd it might become, keep smiling! No worries, because April 2 is right around the corner ... the day Baylor plays in the NIT final. If you had told me that in September, I'd have thought that you'd changed the first day of the New Year on me and made me a September Fool!

Go Bears!

Photo credit: emdot