... look it really is too difficult arguing this any more. I think that the Christian church was right in hijacking all of the Roman and Greek festivals. The following I hope shows why - dates and days are just completely and uttlerly haywire.
What prompted this was this from the Divulge website. Particularly B's comment "5. Where did April Fools Day come from?I have no idea - prawn and his extensive discourse made me laugh though :) - that is why asked the question. And rollos is cool too." Well in true fashion I did some research on the matter and the results are not only stranger than I imagined but almost than I could imagine.
The story Gregorian Calendar is surely one of the most political things in the history of history. April Fool's Day or All Fools Day is yet another one on these historical appendicies.
The commonly accepted origin of April Fool's Day involves changes in the calendar. At one time, the New Year celebration began on March 25 and ended on April 1. However, in 1582, King Charles IX adopted the Gregorian calendar and accepted the beginning of the new year as January 1. Those who refused to acknowledge the new date or simply forgot received foolish gifts and invitations to nonexistent parties. The butt of such a prank was known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."
Pope Gregory suppressed 10 days in the year 1582 and ordained that thereafter the years ending in hundreds should not be leap years unless they were divisible by 400. The year 1600 was a leap year under both systems, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 were leap years only in the unreformed calendar. The reform was accepted, immediately in most Roman Catholic countries, more gradually in Protestant countries, and in the Eastern Church the Julian calendar was retained into the 20th century.
The reform was not accepted in England and the British colonies in America until 1752. By that date the English calendar was 11 days different from that of continental Europe. Quite bizzare that September 3 should be followed by September 14, 1752, to compound this several workers demanded that they be paid 11 days of lost income.
At the time of the October Revolution, Russia was still using the Julian calendar. This was different from the modern calendar in its application of leap years, resulting in it falling behind the seasons by about 1 day every 100 years. Most Western European nations (including the British Empire) had shifted to the modern calendar system by 1760 (predating the American Revolution).
As a result of this difference in calendars, since the dates were set forward to correct for the existing error when the various countries changed systems, it was October 25th in Russia but the same day was November 6th (I think, give or take a day) in London and Paris. The Soviet Union shifted to the modern calendar system during the 1920's.
The last thing that perhaps should be mentioned in all of this is the strange case of Ethiopia. Their calendar whilst still being roughly Gregorian in operation claims that they calculate the year from the actual date of creation. They argue that creation took place in the autumn, which starts in September and ends in December. They also say that when God flooded the earth at the time of Noah, the flood started in the month of May (Ginbot, or the ninth month for Ethiopians) and subsided in September (Meskerem). The earth dried up, heralding new life on earth. Hence two reasons for New Year being in September, right after the Ethiopian rainy season. So in Ethiopia the date is taken to be 7 years and 11 days behind our own. Or today is April 1, 1998.
Should we give them an April Fish? I throw my hands in the air at this point.
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