Welcome to April’s edition
You can contiue to read our editorial below with links to all the articles on this website or flick through our virtual magazine by clicking the magazine image at the bottom of this page . Either way we hope you enjoy reading.
April also carries with it that quirky tradition – April Fool’s Day – a time when everyone is given a licence to play practical jokes on the unsuspecting. These hoaxes range from minor japes played on family and friends to major hoaxes involving thousands of people.
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But when and how did April’s Fool day develop and why?
Extensive research suggests there are many theories but no one satisfactory answer. It would appear that many of the developed countries for some reason or other each adopted a single peculiar custom on one day of the year. One theory about the establishment of April Fool’s Day originated from the alteration of the French calendar in the sixteenth century. Some sources claim that in 1564 France moved the start of the year from the end of March to the date we all use today, January 1st.
As with most changes to the secure rhythm and routine of people’s lives some were resistant and adverse to change preferring to continue celebrating the beginning of the new year at the end of March. The suggestion is that these poor souls were made a laughing stock by having a paper fish pinned on their back and had jokes played on them. Today the French still adopt this tradition called ‘Poisson d’Avril’.
However this theory does not fit the historical development of the calendar reform and there are many countries claiming ownership of the Aprils Fool’s Day tradition, including Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.
Most countries such as the UK and Canada the jokes can only be played up until midday, after which any person initiating a prank then becomes the fool. However in others countries such as Italy and France the jokes can last all day. There have been many famous hoaxes played on us the unsuspecting public by people and organisations that we trust and respect. Our favourite prank was played by Sir Patrick Moors and BBC on his Radio 2 show. Both the BBC and Sir Patrick Moor are such bastions of truth and knowledge that we would never have suspected them of playing such a prank!
Sir Patrick Moore announced to an eager audience that trusted his expertise in all things celestial, that on the 1st April a unique alignment of the Planets Pluto and Jupiter would create a counter gravitational pull to the earth’s own gravity. He advised the listeners that if they jumped in the air at precisely 9.47 am they would be able to experience a floating sensation. Hundreds of people did exactly that and many reported back to the radio station with reports of families and friends suspended in animation in their homes and floating around their rooms.
We wish you all a happy April Fools day and can assure you that there are no japes or hoaxes in this month’s magazine. Or are there?
N 4 Normandy Team
Contact us at N for Normandy Magazine using the form at the bottom of the page.
APRIL’S CONTENTS
- Christmas Cupcakes
Christmas Cupcakes with Brandy Butter Frosting - by Lindsey Sermon
- Eric Lanlard
Eric Lanlard, A Master Patissier of Glamourous Puds
- France Equestre - Feb 11
- Diagnostics Immobiliers
Buyers of property in France have traditionally always been very well protected by the law with a whole raft of experts’ reports or ‘Diagnostics Immo-biliers’ that are attached to the Compromis de Vente at the time of signing. However, January ...
- France – a different approach to Education - Part 1
The French education system couldn't be more different to that present in the UK at the moment. This does not pose much of a problem to young families who first attend school this side of the channel but for older kids (and therefore their parents) and...
- N4Normandy - Holiday Accommodation
- You just can't beat a Retreat!
This is the traditionally the time of year when you take stock of your life, looking back at what has gone before and forward to what is to come. Maybe things didn’t turn out quite the way you had planned…Maybe you didn’t have a plan at all...
- Currency Corner - Feb 2011
Hello from Currency Corner! Where did January go? It seemed to whizz by for us at First Rate FX. We had a stand at The France Show at Earl’s Court, London, where 17,400 people came through the doors over the weekend. Friday and Saturday were v...
- Guest Châteaux of Normandy - Canisy
The Incredible Charm of Château de Canisy Nestled on a verdant seven hundred forty acres in Normandy with its own lake, the Château de Canisy near St Lô has been in existence for 1000 years. It is of historic importance in the region, and has a p...
- Guess the Location - Feb 2011
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- Angels - KAS
- Hawkinge Hanger Dance 2011
- Properties in Normandy
- Subway Franchise
- Impending Digging
Well I hope everyone enjoyed the festivities over Christmas? I don’t know about you, but once Christmas is out of the way I tend to think the springtime and warmer weather are just around the corner. Apart from the snow we had in early December I th...
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