April Fools' Day

April Fool's Day Written by Sharon Beaux Focus Question How is April Fool's Day best celebrated?

《愚人节》 作者：莎伦·博 核心问题：怎样庆祝愚人节才最有意思？

Pranking fun. It's early spring. Your chili ends up buried under a pile of salt. You're the victim of an April Fool's joke. April Fool's Day is on or near April 1st. It's the one day of the year to play jokes or pranks on people.

恶作剧的乐趣。 正值早春时节。 你要吃的辣酱被埋在了一堆盐下面。 你成了愚人节恶作剧的受害者啦。 愚人节就在4月1日前后。 这是一年里可以跟大家开玩笑、搞恶作剧的专属日子。

A common joke may be replacing the sugar with salt. When people see that it's a joke, yell, April fools!

一种常见的恶作剧是把糖换成盐。 等大家发现是玩笑时，你就大喊：「愚人节上当啦！」

Why April 1st? No one knows why April Fool's Day is on April 1st. It may once have marked the coming of spring. People were often fooled by the changing weather at this time of the year. Another idea is that April Fool's Day began when we first started using the calendar we use today. The start of the new year moved from the beginning of April to January 1st. People who still celebrated New Year's Day on April 1st were called April Fools.

为什么是4月1日呢？没人知道愚人节为什么定在4月1日。 它以前可能是用来标志春天到来的日子。 每年这个时候天气多变，人们经常被老天「耍」得团团转。 还有一种说法是，愚人节起源于我们现在使用的公历首次推行的时候。 新年的开始日期从4月初改成了1月1日。 那些还在4月1日庆祝新年的人就被叫做「四月傻瓜」。

Many celebrations were held in the past near April 1st. The ancient Romans celebrated the longer days of spring. They dressed in costumes and played jokes. In Europe in the 12th century, people celebrated the feast of fools. A fake ruler led followers in a parade. People celebrated in this way until the 16th century.

过去，人们会在4月1日前后举办很多庆祝活动。 古罗马人会庆祝春天到来后白昼变长。 他们穿上奇装异服，还互相开玩笑。 12世纪的欧洲，人们会庆祝「傻瓜节」。 一个假扮的统治者会带领追随者们游行。 人们一直用这种方式庆祝，直到16世纪。

Around the World Today, people celebrate April Fool's Day differently around the world. Scottish Scramble In Scotland, April Fools can go on for two days. On April 1st, people in Scotland send friends on foolish tasks. The second day is for playing more jokes.

世界各地的愚人节 如今，世界各地的人们庆祝愚人节的方式各不相同。 苏格兰的愚人节玩法 在苏格兰，愚人节的恶作剧可以持续两天。 4月1日这天，苏格兰人会打发朋友去做一些傻乎乎的差事。 第二天则是用来搞更多恶作剧的。