As you know, I’ve been gleaning interesting factoids about human holidays. Humans are very concerned with the calendar, particularly about beginning it. For instance, did you know that April Fool’s Day, which is today, was part of yet another New Year’s celebration which began on the spring equinox? This is most confusing indeed. We’re only beginning April and already we’ve had three New Years. One begins to suspect that the New Year’s celebration is less about starting a new year and more about a little festive imbibing.
Now the origin of April Fool’s Day is rather fun. In 1564, the French nobility decided to move the New Year to January to get a jump on the Gregorian calendar, and then not tell anyone they didn’t like, like the bourgeoisie. Then when April 1st rolled around, the people celebrating the old New Year’s Day could be made fun of and called “April fish,” presumably because they were so behind the times that they might as well have been in the previous astrological sign of Pisces. Traditionally, the French celebrate April 1st by sneaking dead fish onto their friends’ backs. This is so sweet! My Humans, of course, are not French. I did not get a fish. Perhaps it’s just as well. I’ve had Ocean Whitefish all week, and I’m hoping for something different—like lamb! After all, we are in Aries now.
