Sunday will be April Fool's Day, the day where jokes and antics are plotted and randomly played on others. Watch out, you never know what might happen.
April Fool's is thought to date back to the Roman Empire and the festival of Ceralia.
Roman legend says that Pluto carried Proserpina off from the Elysian meadows, leaving her mother Ceres on a fool's errand, chasing only the echo of her daughter's pleas for help.
I am not one to miss an opportunity for a good laugh, but please don't kidnap anyone for April Fool's; it could get you in some serious trouble.
One of the more popular traditions of April Fool's comes from sixteenth-century France, when the start of the new year was observed on April first.
It was celebrated much like our new year now, with various parties and merriment taking place throughout the night.
In 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. Some people, however, did not hear or believe the change in the date and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools", sending them on a "fool's errand" or making them believe that something false was true.
Today we do very much the same things. However, our practical jokes vary greatly depending upon whom the joke is played on and who is playing the joke.
For your entertainment pleasure let me give you just a few suggestions for April Fool's gags that have been passed on to me.
Fill the sugar bowl with salt -- breakfast will be a new experience.
(You could also loosen as many salt and pepper shakers as possible in a restaurant before you leave, or leave your waiter or waitress a "tip"-- a piece of paper saying "saying thanks for the service, be a little nicer next time, April Fool's.")
Set your roommate's clock back by an hour or so. (Some of them probably don't show up to class on time anyway, so it shouldn't matter that much.)
Hide in the closet when you hear your roommate or family member opening the front door. Give them a minute or two before you open the door and scream, "Man, I thought I would never find this shirt.'
This one is really cruel -- more on the psychotic side, but funny. Take a tire gauge and let out some of the air in your friend's car tires, then put a knife underneath the car and say, "Hey man, are you sure that your ex isn't crazy?"
Whatever joke you may pull this April Fool's day, just be sure that it truly doesn't harm anyone, and that you will be able to be forgiven long after the laughs have died down.
