Essay

April Fool's Day

By Kip A. Cates

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April in Japan is a happy time. Why? Because it starts off with cherry blossoms, school bags and entrance ceremonies. April in the United States and Canada is quite different. Why? Because it starts off with tricks and mischief!

April 1st is April Fool's Day. It's celebrated all over Europe and North America. It's a special day devoted to practical jokes. What's a practical joke? That's when someone plays a trick on another person.

April Fool's Day is a lot of fun. Friends and colleagues play jokes on each other. Newspapers print false headlines, such as "Aliens invade Earth!" TV announcers broadcast fake news stories, such as "Elvis Presley returns from the dead!" In France, they like to play tricks using an "April fish."

When I was a child, I always looked forward to April Fool's Day. Each year, my brother and I planned fun ways to fool our parents.

One year, we secretly put salt in the sugar shaker on our kitchen table. It was great fun to watch my father and mother pour "sugar" into their coffee, take a drink, then suddenly realize it was salt. "April Fools!" we called out laughing!

My father sometimes got revenge. One morning, he rushed into our bedroom, shouting "The neighbor's house is on fire!" My brother and I were sleepy and had forgotten it was April 1st. We rushed to the window to see this terrible disaster, only to find our neighbor's house untouched. "April Fools!" my father said, chuckling at how he'd fooled his own kids.

My fondest memories of April Fool's Day are from college. The most notorious practical jokers at our university were the students in the Faculty of Engineering. Each year, they prepared elaborate stunts that always outraged the university authorities. When April 1st came around each year, we always wondered what crazy tricks they'd do.

One year, we arrived on campus to find everyone looking up towards the sky. There, sitting on top of the university clock tower, was a Volkswagen! The Engineering students had hoisted it up by crane the night before. It was the talk of the town and even made the evening news.

Another year, they secretly hid 500 alarm clocks all over the campus. The clocks were set to go off at exactly the same time -- right in the middle of morning lectures. When the time came, it was pandemonium! Alarm clocks rang out in the library, the cafeteria and in every classroom. The teachers were not amused!

When I arrived in Japan, I looked forward with excitement to my first April Fool's Day. "What crazy tricks will my Japanese friends pull?" I wondered. April 1st came. Nothing happened. I was so disappointed!

April Fool's Day may have passed this year, but it's not too late to prepare some good practical jokes. Start planning now for next April Fool's Day!

エイプリルフール

４月は日本では桜や入学式の季節だが、欧米では、4月といえば、悪ふざけやいたずらをして楽しむ１日のエイプリルフール。筆者には楽しいいたずらの思い出がたくさんあるようだ。

The Japan Times ST: April 18, 2014