April 1, 2019 (Monday)
Someone may try to play a practical joke on you today because it is April Fool’s Day.
Have you ever wondered how this tradition got its start? One theory has to do with our calendar. You see, for hundreds of years most people went by a calendar in which New Year’s Day was April 1. To overcome some of the problems associated with an extra day that sneaked in every four years or so, we made a new calendar that observed January 1 as New Year’s Day. And, of course, we still use that calendar and observe every new year on January 1.
The problem brought on by the new calendar existed because many people refused to give in and observe the new year on January 1. They kept on observing April 1. After a while, those folks were out of step with just about anything and everything that had to do with dates and schedules, and the New Year observance on April 1 made them look foolish.
With the passing of time, and people being like they are, April 1 became a day when those who continued to go by the old calendar looked foolish indeed. As people will do, they embellished and exaggerated until the custom of practical jokes joined the celebration of the New Year that was no more.
If someone plays a joke on you today and then says, “April Fool!,” you can look them in the eye and ask, “What makes people play jokes on each other on this day?” Then you can keep talking about the calendar and such while they pivot from foot to foot and try to get away. You will bore them so badly they never will play another April Fools joke on you.
Oh, and just to see how alert you are today, answer me this: “How do we square playing practical jokes on people with the Bible when it says, “Be kind to one another?”