The Dynamic Trio - Blog

I’ve just googled April Fool’s Day, and it seems the origin of the day is a bit of a mystery. According to the National Geographic site the most popular theory is that France changed its calendar in the 1500s so that the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of the start of spring in late March or early April.

However word of the change traveled slowly, and many people in rural areas continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring. These country dwellers became known as “April fools.”

Another theory is that April Fools’ Day simply grew out of age-old European spring festivals of renewal, in which pranks and camouflaging one’s identity are common.

Wikipedia says April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools’ errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

As a child I remember my father waking us up extra early. He was very excited and said that one of our horses had foaled. When we stumbled outside in our pajamas, rubbing our tired eyes, he shouted, “April Fool.” Color me not amused. I still remembered my lack of humor!

I also remember purchasing a block of rubber, cutting it into pieces and decorating them with chocolate icing and shredded coconut so they looked like Lamingtons. I took them to a class party and still recall the priceless look on the boys’ faces when they tried to eat the rubbery lamingtons.

And sort of in the funny ha-ha category - I broke my bike today. I’m not sure what happened but the front wheel caught somehow and I almost flew over the handle bars. It must have looked funny, but I managed to save myself from greeting the footpath with my head. I think hubby should be able to fix my bike. The chain has come off and I couldn’t get it back on so I had to wheel it home. Luckily, I always wear my helmet. I know some people don’t but during my teenage years I used to ride horses quite a bit. I never fell off much, but I did trip over while crossing the road one day. The riding hat was the only thing that saved me from gashing my head open. I ripped the felt on the hat but was otherwise uninjured. The moral of the story is that I learned to wear protective helmets whenever necessary! It’s actually law to wear a helmet while cycling in NZ, a law I’m happy to obey.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Watch out for pranksters on April 1st!

I’ve just googled April Fool’s Day, and it seems the origin of the day is a bit of a mystery. According to the National Geographic site the most popular theory is that France changed its calendar in the 1500s so that the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of the start of spring in late March or early April.

However word of the change traveled slowly, and many people in rural areas continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring. These country dwellers became known as “April fools.”

Another theory is that April Fools’ Day simply grew out of age-old European spring festivals of renewal, in which pranks and camouflaging one’s identity are common.

Wikipedia says April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools’ errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

As a child I remember my father waking us up extra early. He was very excited and said that one of our horses had foaled. When we stumbled outside in our pajamas, rubbing our tired eyes, he shouted, “April Fool.” Color me not amused. I still remembered my lack of humor!

I also remember purchasing a block of rubber, cutting it into pieces and decorating them with chocolate icing and shredded coconut so they looked like Lamingtons. I took them to a class party and still recall the priceless look on the boys’ faces when they tried to eat the rubbery lamingtons.

And sort of in the funny ha-ha category - I broke my bike today. I’m not sure what happened but the front wheel caught somehow and I almost flew over the handle bars. It must have looked funny, but I managed to save myself from greeting the footpath with my head. I think hubby should be able to fix my bike. The chain has come off and I couldn’t get it back on so I had to wheel it home. Luckily, I always wear my helmet. I know some people don’t but during my teenage years I used to ride horses quite a bit. I never fell off much, but I did trip over while crossing the road one day. The riding hat was the only thing that saved me from gashing my head open. I ripped the felt on the hat but was otherwise uninjured. The moral of the story is that I learned to wear protective helmets whenever necessary! It’s actually law to wear a helmet while cycling in NZ, a law I’m happy to obey.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Watch out for pranksters on April 1st!