邓建栋二胡演奏:愚人节的由来（含愚人节的由来英文版）

愚人节的由来

    每年的4月1日是西方的民间传统节日——愚人节。愚人节起源于法国，1564年，法国首先采用新改革的记年法——格里历(即目前通用的阳历)，以1月1日为一年之始。但一些因循守旧的人反对这种改革，依然按照旧历固执地在4月1日这一天送礼品，庆祝新年。主张改革的人对这些守旧者的做法大加嘲弄。聪明滑稽的人在4月1日就给他们送假礼品，邀请他们参加假招待会．并把上当受骗的保守分子称为“四月傻瓜”或“上钩的鱼”。从此人们在4月1日便互相愚弄，成为法国流行的风俗。18世纪初，愚人节习俗传到英国，接着又被英国的早期移民带到了美国。

    愚人节习俗

    愚人节时人们常常组织家庭聚会，用水仙花和雏菊把房间装饰一新。典型的传统做法是布置假环境，可以把房间布置得象过圣诞节一样．也可以布置得象过新年一样，待客人来时则祝贺他们“圣诞快乐”或“新年快乐”，令人感到别致有趣。

　  4月1日的鱼宴也是别开生面的。参加色宴的请帖，通常是用纸板做成的彩色小鱼，活泼别致。餐桌用绿、白两色装饰起来．中间放上鱼缸和小巧玲珑的钓鱼竿，钓竿上系一条绿色飘带，挂着送给客人的礼物——或是一个精巧的赛璐珞鱼，或是一个装满糖果的鱼篮子。不言而喻，鱼宴上所有的菜都是用鱼做成的。

    在愚人节的聚会上，还有一种做假菜的风俗。有人曾经描述过一个典型的愚人节菜谱：先是一道“色拉”，莴苣叶上撒满了绿胡椒，但是把叶子揭开后，才发现下面原来是牡蛎鸡尾酒；第二道菜是“烤土豆”，其实下面是甜面包屑和鲜蘑；此后上的菜还有用蟹肉作伪装的烧鸡和埋藏在西红柿色拉下面的覆盆子冰淇淋。饭后，客人还可以从丸药盒里取食糖果。

    不过愚人节最典型的活动还是大家互相开玩笑，用假话捉弄对方。有的人把细线拴着的钱包丢在大街上，自己在暗处拉着线的另一端。一旦有人捡起钱包，他们就出其不意地猛然把钱包拽走。还有人把砖头放在破帽子下面搁在马路当中，然后等着看谁来了会踢它。小孩们会告诉父母说自己的书包破了个洞，或者脸上有个黑点．等大人俯身来看时，他们就一边喊着“四月傻瓜”，一边笑着跑开去。总之，每逢愚人节这一天，动物园和水族馆还会接到不少打给菲什(鱼)先生成莱昂(狮子)先生的电话，常常惹得工作人员掐断电话线，以便减少麻烦。

    如今的愚人节在美国已主要是淘气的男孩子们的。  

   愚人节趣闻

    愚人节最典型的活动就是人们不受责备地互相愚弄、欺骗、开玩笑。这是一个区别软心肠和硬心肠的日子，软心肠者却使被骗的人看上去的却愚蠢万分。有位妇女攒集了几年来他从别的妇女那儿得到的名片，再向对自己用心毫无察觉的朋友那儿索取一些，然后带着大把这样的名片去赴愚人节聚会。她肆无忌惮地同人调情，暗示与她共度一夜将会得到“不一般”地乐趣，然后塞给每一位要求再次相会的男人一张别的女人的名片。

    无疑，每逢这个节日，魔术品商店也会提供不少翻新的花样。例如坐上去就会发生刺耳噪音的坐垫；划着后会变成烟花的火柴；以及为那些要在舞会上装出另一副面孔的人准备的肉瘤、假鼻子、眼镜、胡子和油灰。

    有时候某些恶作剧会产生适得其反的效果。一位一向洋洋得意于自己酒类知识的品酒专家，找到一个街角的下等小酒铺，从酒柜里取出一瓶低劣的普朗克酒，愚人节这天，夹着这瓶他认为是“乡巴佬的美酒佳肴”，出现在某位女主人的门口，并把这瓶酒作为礼物送给了她。当他站在那儿期待着女主人脸上现出要反胃的表情、以便可以大叫一声“愚人傻瓜”时，女主人却因太重礼节而没有流露出对他的鉴赏力的不屑，反而诚恳的向他致谢，并称这酒“正是她所喜爱的”，然后把酒放进冷藏柜中，并在晚餐时享用。

    不止一个恶作剧者用录音磁带中的争吵使客人们陷入“愚人节傻瓜”的境地，男女主人离开了客厅，仿佛是去厨房，从那儿传来了激烈的争吵声，实际上，两位把这场戏剧性争吵事先录下音来的主任，此时就躲在起居室，这样他们便能够站在客厅后面查看客人们的种种反应。

    有一位男人每年都要为那些有着奇怪特共同点的人举办愚人节午餐。有一年他邀请了3个职业迥异，在任何事情上都绝无共同兴趣的男人进餐-----因为他们每人都长着落腮胡。直到最后一道甜点端上来时，客人们才意识到自己为何被邀请。还有一年被邀请的是3个红头发的妇女。在他所有这类恶作剧中最刻薄的，也是把客人蒙在鼓里时间最长的一次是为矮人举行的午宴。全部客人都不超过5英尺3英寸，直到午餐结束、客人们站起来时，才明白他们之间的共同之处。

    以编著“烹饪年鉴”而为当今人们熟知的18世纪末法国恶作剧者格里莫.雷涅赫，在某次愚人节时，举办了一个模仿葬礼布置的聚餐会。在用黑色装饰的房间里，一个灵台放在餐桌的正中央，没完没了的进过程中，观者在环绕着餐厅的廊台上走来走去，送葬者被邀请来注视着进餐者的宾客。雷涅赫担心来客中的有些会提前离去、从而破坏了他的晚宴-------既然晚宴气氛如此，他也许有理由担心，不过对此采取了措施--------他关上了所有的出口，在宣布晚宴结束之前谢绝任何人退席。

The first of April is a special day, on which practical jokes may be played without punishment. The origin of the custom is uncertain, but it seems to have come about in France as a result of the change to the Gregorian calendar in 1582.

In sixteenth-century France, the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night. Then in 1582, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, however, who hadn’t heard or didn’t believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them “April Fools.” They sent them on a “fool’s errand” or tried to make them believe that something false was ture.

In France today, children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends’backs. When the “young fool” discovers this trick, the prankster yells “April Fish” Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the same day. One common trick is pointing down to a friend’s shoe and saying, “Your shoelace is untied!”Teachers in the nineteenth century used to say to pupils, “Look! A flock of geese!” and point up. School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled. Whatever the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, “April Fool!”

The “fool’s errands” we play on people are practical jokes. Filling the sugar bowl with salt, stuffing a biscuit with cotton and offering an empty egg shell at breakfast, are good old tricks. Some practical jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim realizes what day it is. Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and not meant to harm anyone. The most clever April Fool joke is the one where everyone laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke is played.

There are also April Fool letters. They are composites of prankishness, deception, absurdity, folk verses, and love. The letters are never signed, but girls, apparently, make a game of trying to guess who send them. To receive an April Fool letter during April, for it can be sent anything during the month, is deemed a most flattering honor and the contents are shared among envious acquaintances.

April Fool tricks are not, it seems, confined to children. People play tricks in the office. Faking phone calls, issuing tickets for nonexistent parties, and creating bomb scares are all elaborate pranks. The story of a salesman in Rhode Island is said to be the worst trick on April Fool’s Day. He had been fooling around with a secretary. He was married and everyone in the office knew about it.
The girl was a bit crazy, a real screwball, and one of the other salesman persuaded her to tell her boy friend she was pregnant as an April Fool joke. She went in his office and left the door open so everyone could hear her. Her words did make him a little crazy. He thought it was a big joke. Maybe he was happy it was an April Fool joke. But he just laughed and kept right on going around with her.