All Fools' Day

Naturally, the Internet and Twitter is all atwitter about April Fool's Day. And, naturally, there is nary an original thought anywhere about this over-hyped date (the prank Mitt Romney's staff pulled on their boss -- loud yawn -- doesn't count). I made a vain attempt to unearth some new fruit, but found the digital grounds to be as barren and frozen as Callista Gingrich's smile. That cheap shot aside, I got nothin'. Though there are competing theories about the origins of All Fools' Day, no one actually knows. And I expect we never will. We do know, however, that the earliest extant record associating April 1 with foolishness is found in "The Nun's Priest's Tale," one of Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales (1392).

The relevant lines are:

Syn March was gon, thritty dayes and two,
     [Since March had gone, thirty days and two]
Bifel that Chauntecleer in al his pryde
     [Befell that Chauntecleer in all his pride]

Which roughly means trickery would befall the character Chauntecleer on April 1 (i.e., March 30 + 2). And with that, I'll end my own tomfoolery fiddling with this silly topic.