"April Fools" - don't forget to smile
By Sudie Blanchard
Assistant Director
YORK VILLAGE - Sunday is April Fool's Day. Did you ever wonder how this particular "holiday" got started?
According to some, the observance of April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, began as early as the 16th century in France.
Under the Julian calendar developed by Julius Caesar, April 1 was celebrated as the first day of the year. In 1564, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar, designating Jan. 1 as the start of the new year. In France, those who continued to celebrate April 1 as New Year's Day were called "fools" and became the target of ridicule and pranks by adherents of the new Gregorian calendar.
The tradition of performing practical jokes on April 1 spread to other European countries and their American colonies in the 18th century.
The "Encyclopedia of Religion" and the "Encyclopedia Britannica" both observe that the holiday's timing seems to be related to the beginning of spring, when nature "fools" us with fickle weather.
Whatever the origin of the holiday, you should be prepared for pranks and jokes!
Here at the library, we will be observing April Fool's Day - no fooling! - by showing the final film in our Winter Film Festival: "Being John Malkovich."
Enjoy this comic fantasy on Sunday, April 1, at 3 p.m. Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), a struggling street puppeteer, takes a job as a filing clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building, where he accidentally discovers a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by John Malkovich).
With his beautiful officemate, Maxine (Catherine Keener), and his pet-obsessed wife (Cameron Diaz), they hatch a plan to charge admission to journey inside the head of this well-known actor, opening up a metaphoric "can of worms" as strangers take over Malkovich's mind for a quarter-hour at a time.
Some authors who might tickle your funny bone include Dave Barry - contemporary look at the absurdity of life; Roy Blount - Southern humorist of contemporary life; Art Buchwald - political humor; Bill Cosby - humorous anecdotes about love and aging; Al Franken - political satire; Molly Ivins - political humor with a Texas slant; Garrison Keillor - humor from Lake Wobegon and beyond; Steve Martin - contemporary humor; Patrick McManus - anecdotes about hunting, fishing and outdoor life; P. J. O'Rourke - political and economic satire; Will Rogers - classic American humor; Andrew Rooney - humorous essays on all aspects of life; James Thurber - timeless humor from the famed New Yorker writer; Calvin Trillin - witty essays on all aspects of modern life, and Mark Twain - classic American humor.
