April Fool's Day

 April Fool's Day or as it originally was known as "All Fools Day" originated during The Hundred Years War. (1337 to 1453). The House of Plantagenet and The House of Valois were the main combatants and were struggling over who would rule the Kingdom of France. Because it was such a long and protracted war many generations died. In 1415 both kings decided to start a tradition during the war to "lighten the mood" for at least one day during these battles. When the Lancastrian phase of the war started almost 80 years into this bloody conflict the King of England and the King of France chose April 1 under the old calendar, BTW, which probably made it somewhere in the middle of April these days. Anyway, the Kings decided to send their respective Fools (or Jesters) out into the battlefield to play pranks on unsuspecting soldiers. Usually that resulted in the Fools' deaths by cruel and unusual means because the pranks really weren't very funny but their deaths for all to see caused much merriment among the troops and a few kegs of rotgut wine were broken out (you expect the kings to give away the good stuff?) and everyone had a party.