In the Beginning: the History
The history of April Fool’s Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year’s Day – April 1 was changed to January.
Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1st.
These people, labeled “fools” by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on “fool errands,” given invitations to non-existent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a “poisson d’avril” or “April fish” because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.
This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing and merriment continued on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool’s Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way.*
The Vision
We first got the idea from a story on NPR where they discussed the origins of April Fools’s Day. We felt that the population of SoHud would be the most appropriate setting for a “New Years in April” parade in Columbus. The Neighborhood brings together an interesting and unique history and a cornucopia of individuals that should celebrate New Years at the birth of spring.
The vision of the SoHud group is for the event to be a family friendly parade of individual floats and marchers ending with a community festival of Hilaria at The Summit. This year’s parade and festival will take place on Saturday April 2nd, 2016.
We feel that this event will be an annual happening that will assist in building a positive image of SoHud, as well as a way for members of this neighborhood and other neighborhoods to gather, meet and celebrate Spring. We hope to foster dialogue and community with the established residents as well as the newer members of our neighborhood. This will not only encourage a more cohesive community but also a safer one.
We have the support of several neighborhood leaders and business people (We tried to list them all on our Thank You page!). The SoHud neighborhood has many thriving businesses and we hope to draw attention and encourage new business opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Be one with the Parliament of Fools!
The fool-hardy group of folks who are trying to make this happen would love to welcome more of our kind! If you have some expertise, knowledge, contacts, or labor that you can contribute to this effort, please let us know
* Details of history taken from: http://www.april-fools.us/history-april-fools.htm