Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-05-01
ALL FOOLS DAY FUN.
BoMs OF THE CUSTOMS OF THE
MERRY ANNIVERSARY.

Stories Alleging the Origin of the Day.
Napoleon Married on the 1st of April.
The Scotch Have Great Times With tho
Gawk-The Grocer Evens Up.
''The compliments of the season to
my worthy masters and merry 1st OF
April to us all, wrote the genial and
gentle Charles Lamb.
He further goes on to say: II will
confess TRUTH love fool as natural
ly as if he were kith and kin to me, and,
take my word for it and say fool told
you, that he who has not dram Of folly
in his mixture hath pounds of much
worse matter in his composition.
Very few men are willing to embark
in new enterprise on April 1, and
marriages are rarely solemnized on that
day. One that has historical record is
that of Napoleon with Maria Louise,
which cannot be said to have furnished
an example calculated to bring the day
into favor The French people attached
much significance to the choice of that
day by Napoleon. Like all Frenohmen,
the emperor was susceptible to ridicule,
and it is hard to understand how he
gave the Parisians an opportunity to de-
ride his marriage day, which they did
most effectually, theme which was i'm
portant at that time to both Napoleon
and his dynasty and called attention to
his daring revokal Of the laws in his
second marriage.
Shakespeare, who, like Lamb, loved
a fool, does not once allude to the Gus
tom of keeping April l as All Fools
day Indeed he only mentions April l
once in his plays, and that is in connec-
tion with tragic incident when King
John is informed:
'The 1st of April died your noble
mother -
That the custom was in vogue at that
time in France is established, but there
is no absolute certainty of the time
when it was introduced into England.
Some pretend to date the custom back
to the Feast of FAols, kind of satur-
MALTA popular in the middle ages Its
chief object was to honor the ass, on
which tho Saviour made his entry into
Jerusalem. Professions of fools accom-
panied the central figure, and whenever
the animal brayed they initiated it. As
similar tricks are played at the Hull
festival, there must be another solution
of its origin. 1t is claimed by other his
torians that the observance of the day
dates from 1864, when New Years day
was changed to Jan. 1, leaving the 1st
of April, which had been the date of
the new year, without service, and it
became burlesque anniversary.
An old legend tells pretty story OF
the disappearance of an eastern prince
on this day. His subjects mourned him
sincerely, and every year on the day OF
his mysterious disappearance sent out
the children Of the kingdom to search
for him, and they turned the day into
one Of merrymaking.
The story got abroad and reached Japan. .
From thence by story tellers it was hurled
Into the islands OF the western world,
And SO the legend of two thousand years
The cause of April All Fools day appears.
In Scotland the April fool is called il
gowk, and in France an April fish. In
England the day is always observed as
an opportunity for getting off practical
jokes on the public. On the 1st of April,
1860, a complimentary card was sent
out generally inviting people to an en-
tertainment at the Tower of London.
These cards read: