April Fool's Day is celebrated by Germans on both sides of the ocean with gusto. The origin of this wide-spread custom is not at all clear. Does it have something to do with old spring rituals? Is it mimicking the capriciousness of incoming April? Or is it maybe a little of both.

In the northern countries April usually makes a grand entrance with storm and rain; it may rain really hard one minute and then the sun will peak out again, "April, April kann machen was er will!" goes the saying.

On the first day of ill-tempered April many humans will participate in its capriciousness. Especially children can think of many usual and some unusual ways of sending someone into April: "April, April, einen Narren kann man schicken wohin man will!" What delight when a friend, father or mother, and maybe even a teacher will fall for an innocent joke, an imagined rip in the dress, a spot on the good pants. Even serious newspapers are known to report some unbelievably believable news, well reported, which lead to laughter among the adults.

Ruth Reichmann
Max Kade German-American Center
Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis

FURTHER RESOURCES compiled by Robert Shea