April Fools!!!

April Fools Day.  Such a random holiday.  Before today I had never really thought about where it came from or why we even bother putting it on the calendar.  For my husband, the first day of April is a day to tease, joke, and prank more than usual.  Yes, I love his zany humor and obnoxious antics.  But to dedicate a whole day to them?  Hmmmmm....That's borderline insanity.

I found one of many explanations as to where April Fools originated from.  I have no idea how valid or truthful this story is.  I found it on the internet though so it must be true.  Right?  (wink, wink)  It is said that this practice of "Fools Day" began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. (cough, cough...Why do I feel like this applies to our current government?)  Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event. 

The professor who gave the above explanation said, "In a way, it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor."

I like the idea of jesters ruling the country.  Honestly I like the idea of jesters in general.  We could use a little more humor.  And we could really use some "wise men....ruling the empire". 

So in lieu of April Fools Day, do something fun.  Serve M&Ms for dinner.  Put red food coloring in the milk.  Wear your underwear on the outside of your clothing.  Laugh!  Today is a happy day!  And enjoy the following quotes.  I know I did.

Don’t give cherries to pigs or advice to fools. ~Irish Proverb   Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. ~ Chinese Proverb Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. ~ Mark Twain      If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings. ~ Welsh Proverb  He who is born a fool is never cured. ~ Proverb  We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~ Japanese Proverb  You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. ~Abraham Lincoln   Even the gods love jokes. ~Plato   It is better to weep with wise men than to laugh with fools. ~Spanish Proverb   I have great faith in fools – self-confidence, my friends call it. ~Edgar Allan Poe   Real friends are those who, when you feel you’ve made a fool of yourself, don’t feel you’ve done a permanent job. ~Author Unknown