Greetings from the Great Bend Public Library, and Happy April Fools’ Day!
The origin of this tradition might surprise you. Most historians trace April Fools’ Day to the 1500s in France, when the Julian calendar, or the Roman calendar, was switched for the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Christian calendar, which is the one that we still use today. This happened as a result of the then-emperor of Rome converting to Christianity and requiring all citizens to as well.
In the Julian calendar, New Year’s Day was celebrated on the spring equinox. After the change, the new year was celebrated around January 1 instead of April 1. Anyone still celebrating the new year at the beginning of April became the butt of jokes and tricks, considered fools for celebrating at the wrong time.
Through the centuries this tradition has transformed into a day to play pranks and pull hoaxes. Within the last century, even big companies have gotten in on the fun, like when Taco Bell announced in 1996 that it would purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and rename it the Taco Liberty Bell, or in 1998, when Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper.” Even the British Broadcasting Corporation of the United Kingdom reported in 1957 that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees. So keep your wits about you this year and practice critical thinking, lest you end up being April’s Fool!
Coming up
Friday we do have two fun events, and I promise they are not hoaxes! From 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., teens can hang out in the Teen Spot for Casual Game Friday. This month we are racing head-to-head while avoiding blue shells to win the coveted first-place spot. Later Friday night we have our Adults Night Out Movie at 7 p.m. Fans of Jane Austen will enjoy this 2020 remake of one of her beloved classics.
Next week starting on Monday, teens who signed up for April’s TeenBookCrate and received confirmation emails will be able to start picking them up. For those who didn’t manage to snag a reservation, you will have the chance to get one the week of April 11. These will be first-come, first-served.
And, last but not least, we have some very exciting news: Luna the reading partner dog has officially returned to the library! She will be visiting us every Thursday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. through May 5th. She will then take a short break in May to prepare for weekly visits in the summer. Please join us in welcoming back Luna!
To see what else we’re up to at the library, find us on social media @greatbendpl and visit our website, greatbendpl.info. You can also message us on Facebook, email us at gbcirc@gmail.com, or give us a call at 620-792-2409 for any questions about our programming or services.
Written by Hannah Grippin, Outreach Manager at the Great Bend Public Library.
