The Origin of April Fool's Day

The origin of April Fools' Day is a bit of a puzzle, as there are several ideas of where it could have came from in history. Here are several theories about the origin of April Fools' Day:

In 1564, the French reformed its calender to the modern day Julian Calendar, based on the calendar that Julius Caesar created. The change to this calendar involved moving the new year from the end of March to January 1. Some of the people were stubborn, and wanted to keep the old calendar. In order to tease these 'backwards' people who would not change to the Julian Calendar, pranksters would stick paper fish to these stubborn people's backs. This tradition is called Poisson d'Avril (April Fish), which is what the French call April Fools' Day today.

A Flemish Writer published a satirical poem in 1539 about a nobleman who planned to send his servant on aimless errands on April 1st to help prepare for a wedding feast. The servant eventually realises that his master is playing a trick on him and making him run a fool's errand on this day - April 1st.

According to Roman mythological scholars, Pluto (the God of the Dead) abducted Proserpina to the underworld. Proserpina tried to call to her mother for help but Ceres was unable to find her despite being able to hear Proserpina's voice echo for help. This event was commemorated during the ancient Roman times during the festival of Cerealia.

According to a British legend, the town of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, was also known as the 'town of fools'. In the 13th century, anywhere the King walked upon became public property. The townspeople of Gotham heard that King John was going to travel through their town. As they did not want to lose their private property to the King, they refused him entry into Gotham. In anger, the King ordered his army to go to Gotham - only to find that the residents had engaged in weird and wonderful activities such as drowning fish in an attempt to scare off the King and his army. The King and his soldiers declared the Gotham townspeople as crazy so they were not punished.

Although the true origin of April Fools' Day may never be known, Historians say that it most likely came from continental Europe before spreading to Britain, despite the British legend that took place in Gotham.

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The History of April Fools' Day

In certain countries, the April Fools' jokes must be made before noon on 1 April otherwise it is the prankster who becomes the April Fool.

Origin
The origin of the customs of the day are shrouded in mystery. Some believe it is likely to be a relic of festivities held to mark the vernal equinox. These celebrations of the first days of spring, began on the 25th of March, and ended on the 2nd of April. Certainly there is some evidence to suggest that April 1st was observed as a general festival in pagan Britain.

More commonly, the customs are associated with the switch to the Gregorian calendar in France during the sixteenth century.

Historically, many parts of the world, celebrated April 1st as New Year's Day - due to it's relationship with the start of Spring.

France was one of the first countries to adopt January 1 as their official New Year's Day, by decree of Charles IX in 1564. This was before the 1582 adoption of the Gregorian calendar.

The gifts and traditions which had been the feature of the 1st of April switched to January 1st. However, many people either refused to accept the change or did not hear about the news several years. Those who still celebrated April 1 were seen as 'fools' by the general populace, and fair game to be the butt of pranks and tricks were known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."

The traditions spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century, and was brought to the American colonies by both the English and French.

The tradition of April Fools' Day, also known as All Fools' Day is observed in many countries on April 1.

Generally the aim of the day is trying to play a practical joke on a victim who becomes known as an April Fool. The practical jokes can range from simple to elaborate. Whatever the trick, the prankster usually ends it by shouting to his victim, "April Fool!"

April Fool's day around the world
Scotland In Scotland, April Fool's Day is celebrated over two days - day one is called Taily Day and the second day is devoted to pranks involving the buttocks. The "kick me" sign can be traced back to Taily Day.

Mexico Mexico's equivalent to April Fool's Day is on December 28th. Originally, the day was a sombre remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod, though over the years, it has evolved into a light-hearted commemoration involving pranks and tricks.

France In France the April fool is known as 'poisson d'avril' (April fish). It is not known what exactly the fish refers to, but it may be related to the sun leaving Pieces (the fish) at the start of April. A part of the tradition in France was the placing of dead fish unknowingly on the backs of friends. Today, real fish have been replaced with fish-shaped paper shapes that children try to sneak onto the back of their friends' shirts. Shops and bakeries also offer special fish-shaped sweets.

Netherlands The Dutch have separate reasons for celebrating the 1st of April. In 1572, the Netherlands were under Spanish rule. On April 1, 1572 Dutch rebels seized the town of Den Briel. This marked the start of the general civil rising against the Spanish across the Netherlands. The Duke of Alba was the commander of the Spanish army at the time, and he could not prevent the uprising from gathering momentum. Bril is the Dutch word for glasses, so it was said that "Alba lost his glasses." The Dutch commemorate this with jokes and humour on the first of April.

Office Holidays lists important national and public holidays around the world in a calendar format. All featured holidays have detailed background information. Visit http://www.officeholidays.com for more details on hundreds of other holidays.

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The Top Five Most Popular Patron Saint Medals

Patron saint medals are a very popular thing to wear as a necklace, or to keep on your person at all times. People feel like the saint protects them, helps them through their day, or is simply there to comfort them when they have their medal on them. Some people simply wear patron saint medals because they were named after a certain saint. Whatever the reason may be, people all over the world wear these medals and there are some that have become more popular over the years than others.

5.) Saint Patrick - Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. His feast day falls every year on March 17th and is a pretty well celebrated holiday for those of Irish descent and many others as well. Patrick's story is a eventful one, he was captured by Druids when he was just fourteen and taken from his home in Britain to Ireland. Patrick prayed nearly all day long while he was held in captivity in Ireland and forced to perform labor there. He became extraordinarily close with God and would one day escape from Ireland when God told him to flee to the coast. He found sailors there who took him home to Britain. Patrick would become a priest while he was home and would also be ordained a bishop. He went back to Ireland to try and rid them of the pagans and Druids that overwhelmed their country. Patrick made it his goal to convert as many Irish as possible to the ways of Christianity, which he had great success doing. A shamrock is typically associated with Saint Patrick because he utilized it as a way to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish. Each leaf of the shamrock stood for either God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.

4.) Saint Thomas Aquinas - Saint Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint of universities and students because of his love for knowledge and educating others. His feast day falls on January 28th each year. Saint Thomas was put under the watch of the Benedictines of Monte Casino in his youth. He learned faster than anybody they had seen before and had the patience of a full grown individual when he was just a boy. Once Thomas was old enough to make his own life decisions he chose to join the Order of Saint Dominic. His family did not support his decision and this hurt Thomas inside, but he knew he was making the right choice. Saint Thomas studied under Saint Albert and was one of the best students Albert ever had. Saint Thomas is remembered as one of the great theologians of the Catholic Church.

3.) Saint John the Baptist - Saint John the Baptist died a martyr just like Jesus. He told all of his followers about Jesus and how he truly was the son of God. John was the son of Zachary and Elizabeth, and he was conceived even though Elizabeth was quite old at the time. God sent the angel Gabriel to inform Zachary that his wife would become pregnant and that is exactly what happened despite the terrible odds. John is best known for baptizing men and women in the Jordan River, most notably Jesus himself was baptized by Saint John. John knew precisely who Jesus was and was flattered that Jesus came to him to be baptized and not the other way around. Herod was the ruler at that time and was not a fan of how much power Saint John the Baptist had over large masses of people. He had him arrested on false accusations and beheaded for no good reason. He suffered for his ever strong faith in Christianity and Jesus. Saint John the Baptist is the last prophet from the Old Testament and was the final prophet before Jesus Christ.

2.) Saint Michael - Saint Michael is the patron saint of police officers and his feast day falls on September 29th each year. Saint Michael's name is almost always followed by "the archangel" because that is what he is. He was the leading archangel in the battle in heaven between the angels and Satan and his followers. He is known as one of the great protectors of the Catholic Church forever, and that is why he is the patron saint of police officers. The Greeks used to hold Michael to a higher regard than the rest of the archangels because of his heroic actions displayed in the battle against Satan.

1.) Saint Christopher - Saint Christopher died a martyr just like Saint John the Baptist. Saint Christopher died in the 3rd century when he was asked to take part in a pagan sacrifice and he refused. One legend of Saint Christopher is when he wanted to please God so he asked a local hermit what he could do to have that be done. The hermit told him to fast and prayer, but Saint Christopher was unable to fast. The hermit then told him to help people cross a nearby river because many had died trying to. He found a little boy who needed help and put him on his shoulders. The boy was unbelievably heavy and the water seemed to move much faster than Christopher anticipated. When he reached the other side he was completely out of breath and tired, the boy turned to him and told him that he had just experienced the weight of the world upon his shoulders and that he was Christ. He let him know that his work was greatly appreciated and promptly vanished. Saint Christopher is the most common patron saint medal to see because he is featured on so many of them. He is shown on medals including basketball, golf, tennis, gymnastics, cheer leading, figure skating, volleyball, and hockey players.

Erin Donnelly is a featured author at the best online store for all your Catholic needs, The Catholic Gift Shop. At the store you will find patron saint medals, Catholic rosaries, Baptism, Confirmation, and Christening gifts for anybody you know. However, The Catholic Gift Shop is not only limited to these items they have much, much more to offer as well. The Catholic Gift Shop is the site to visit for all of your religious needs!

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The Zombies Through the History

A zombie is often a reanimated dead or a mindless human being. In the middle ages it was commonly believed that the souls of the dead will return to the earth and haunt the living. The zombies appear in several other cultures worldwide like China, India, Japan, the Pacific and the Native Americans.

Haitian Vodou is a religion from the Caribbean country of Haiti. As a part of the Vodou religion they believe that magician called bokors can revive the recently dead. According to the tenets of Vodou, a dead person can be revived by a sorcerer and the zombie remains under his control because they have no will on their own.

Some of them use blood and hair from the victims in conjunction with voodoo dolls to zombify them. There are also and some other methods of zombification which involve a specially prepared concoction of mystical herbs in addition to human and animal parts. When the bokor performs the ancient voodoo rite, he takes possession of the victim's soul, and replacing it with the Ioa that he controls.

The "trapped" soul usually is placed in a small clay jar, which is wrapped in a fragment of the victim's clothing, or some other personnel possession owned by the victim in life, and then the jar is hidden in a secret place which is known only by the bokor.

When the zombie is revived he has no power of speech and his memory is gone. They are easy to control and usually are used by the bokors as slaves. According to the Haitian folklore, feeding salt to a zombie will return it to its sense.

Then the zombies often attack the bokor who created it, or returns to its place of burial and dies. Although zombies can be traced to Haiti within the last few centuries, older myths have some similarities to zombies.

The Epic of Gilgamesh of ancient Sumer includes zombies. Ishtar in the fury of vengance says:

" Father give me the Bull of Heaven,

So he can kill Gilgamesh in his dwelling.

If you do not give me the Bull of Heaven,

I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,

I will smash the doorposts, and leave the doors flat down,

And will let the dead go up to eat the living!

And the dead will outnumber the living!"

Other older literature in which zombies are mentioned are: "One Thousand and One Nights", "Frankestein", various Gothic Romanticism by Edgar Allan Poe and lots of others. Not only books are written also and movies are filmed. But enough for the history of the zombies rare are the people who actually believe in them.

Nowadays besides the films with zombies also are popular and the zombie games. There are actually a lot of games with zombies, and if you hate to see them on the TV screen maybe you will want to play with them.

Also the games with zombies are divided into several categories like: Zombie Games, Weird Games, Torture Games, and some other scary games. So I will say it again if you are not blood lover and you are too scared to watch all those creepy faces on the screens, and despite all that you want to know more about the zombies, you can search some online games to play or maybe some zombie related book to read.

Oh and one last thing sometimes the zombie games can be funny, not all of them are scary. So the choice is yours. Make the right one.

Hello my name is Marija - I am from Bitola Macedonia. I consider writing to be my passion and I write about things that interest me.

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The Origins of Voodoo

An old and often misunderstood religion, Voodoo is one of many pre-Christian faiths that can be traced to all the way to West Africa and Haiti. Even though it has been depicted as evil by Hollywood and the mainstream media, many of the deities and practices are in no way used for demonic or negative purposes. Instead, they share similar characteristics to Catholicism and some Pagan faiths. You have one God, but multiple deities that govern over nature, emotions, and even certain animals. Where Voodoo gets a bad rap the most is for its rituals and negative uses in certain regions of the world.

Ancestor worship in Voodoo is very prevalent in prayers and rituals, but with a twist. Instead of an afterlife, followers believe that their dead ancestors are still living among them as spirits. Aside from that, the practices and rituals vary from one congregation to another. Many still believe in animal sacrifices to show gratitude for a successful hunt, harvest, or other joyous occasions. One that stays solid is the appointment of Queen Mothers (similar to bishops or imams, but made to provide spiritual needs for their respected family clans). They are typically the elderly women in the clans and given a title based on their most respected ancestors (much like how the Pope is given his).

Animal sacrifices may turn some non-believers green in the face, but other rituals hold a more tolerable place in Voodoo. Special talismans, or "fetishes", are sometimes made from or are dried animal parts that help recharge a worshipper's soul or provided for certain purposes (ie: protection for evil). Other talismans are created from plants or other natural resources. The famous "Voodoo Doll" is one of them, but it's far from the doll-shaped pin cushion used in TV and movies.

Where Voodoo has been known for its negative uses is in the American southeast and any country that brought slaves from West Africa. During captivity, many practitioners would cast hexes and spells on their owners and bosses when their fellow worker was beaten or killed. One of the signs that they were used was a black X that can be found on or around old slave quarters. Some slaves even went as far as defacing free pendants given by Christian missionaries to show honor towards certain female deities. Many of those pendants were made of gold or silver at the time, making them last for generations.

Today, Voodoo is a minority religion that has survived and kept a strong following since. It is still prevalent in West Africa to a certain degree, but Haiti and the U.S. (specifically Louisiana and other southern states) have the most well-known presence when the religion is mentioned to non-believers. Like other religions, Voodoo has and can be used for both good and evil purposes. However, many go with the first due to the consequences that can arise with the second (having a hex backfire is one of them). Otherwise, Voodoo as a whole can be just as complex and positive as other organized faiths, but with its own set of beliefs and deities to worship.

Learn more about voodoo, learn voodoo spells and love spells at TheVoodooSpells.com

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Make a Guy Fall in Love - Love Voodoo Tips That Work

Does your heart yearn to make a guy fall in love with you? Do you dream of romance day and night? Do you wonder if there is a way to attract men that will make them fall hard and stay? There is no "voodoo" magic spell that has been proven to work, but if you stick with these basic facts about male psychology, you can make a guy fall in love with you just like magic.

It may not sound like the best dating advice, but the first thing you need to do is choose carefully who you want to starting dating. Is there a guy that every girl wants to be seen with and will do anything they can to snag a date with? Are you one of those girls? Maybe it's time you changed your strategy.

The guys that every girl wants are the guys you should play hard to get with. If you're too easy to catch, he may give you a thrill for a date or two, but it will lead to heartbreak in the end. Those kinds of guys never see beneath the surface attraction of a girl until one comes around who doesn't seem to care. If a guy like that comes into your life, play hard to get if you want him to fall for you.

Whoever he is, if you want to make a guy fall in love with you, you need to make him want you for something besides sex. When you're out on a date, get to know him. Ask him about his interests. Make the date fun and exciting for both you and him. If your first date is a memorable one, he will feel that you fulfill him in a way that other girls cannot.

There will be times when he will need someone to talk to - someone he can trust. Be that someone for him. Put your own interests aside and listen to him wholeheartedly. You will become his confidante and he will find himself falling in love with you.

The "voodoo" of love consists of three things: desire, trust and emotional fulfillment. If you want to make a guy fall in love with you, mix these three ingredients in equal measures and you will see the magic work!

To learn more, click Fall in Love and learn Love Mistakes that 99% of women make without knowing.

This article is contributed by Tina Jones from the Unforgettable Woman Publishing Team. She works together with founder Alexandra Fox and writes dating/relationship articles for women. You can find more about Unforgettable Woman Publishing by visiting their website.

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How To Make Different Voodoo Dolls

It is known only to a few people, but Voodoo dolls come in many forms. The only dolls that most of us are familiar of are those made out of cloth. Little did we know that we can actually make poppets or dolls out of paper, wax, wood or clay.

Most people do not know that these dolls can also bring benefits to the user. In fact, they can be used for healing and maintaining good health. Some people also believe it to bring good fortune, love and protection from any curses or bindings. By using them, people can control energy in a variety of ways.

One uncommon doll is one that is made of wax. To make it, you must have softened wax and mold a shape out of it. It is essential that you place oil in your hands so that it is easier to manipulate the wax. Once the molding procedure is done, you can already decorate it with buttons, stones or even beads of your own design. Adding hair or garment is optional, but not really necessary. Yet, this may help you imagine the recipient more easily because the doll seems to be a personal replica of the person.

The second unusual doll is the wood poppet doll. Making this is relatively easy. All you have to do is draw a figure on a clean piece of parchment paper or card and cut it out. Similarly with the wax doll, you can decorate it yourself and you may draw symbols or attach a photo of the intended recipient. These add more personal touches to the doll.

Next, who would have thought that Voodoo dolls can be made out of wood? Specifically, you will need a soft wood for this kind of doll so that carving figure from it will not be difficult. Using sticky glue put some hair using your yarn, rope, or anything that may fancy your desires. You can also use paint on the doll's clothes or face.

Last but not the least, the clay dolls may or may not be done easily. It can be done easily if you use the soft kind of clay (the ones we play with while we are young), while it can be difficult if you use the clay that is meant to be hardened during the final process. Any way you make it, it can still be considered a voodoo doll. But, remember to put a hollow space inside the clay to fill with special herbs or draw special symbols to seal. This will enhance the effectiveness of the doll to the intended recipient as you are adding personal touches. Just like all the other dolls, you may paint, adorn, or place the recipient's picture to the doll itself.

There may be different versions of dolls. Even if the doll you make is not the typical one, it will still work for you if you know the right attitude, directions and spells. If you want to be better in casting spells, practice. If you want to know about them, research. If you desire to gain more knowledge, seek help from advisors or experts. Voodoo, indeed, is a very vast area wherein beginners need patience in order to fully comprehend it.

If you want to learn more on how to make a voodoo doll I advice you to visit the voodoo doll spells site.

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