Page 25 - 1954 VES Meteor

The Ole Bookworm's Corner (Continued from poge 4, col. I )
custom to send anyone who forgot the reason for the celebration of the date upon some tool's errand, called a sleeveless" errand by the British. The forgetful victim was called the April Fool.
A second authority finds the origi- nal festival to be even earlier than Noah, for he traces it to India and the Hindu religion. Even today, the Feast of Huli is celebrated so as to end on March 31 and April first. The chief amusement of this last day is the fool- ing of people by sending them out on lruitless errands. It is apparently the one day in the Hindu year when the caste system is forgotten. Brahmin and Untouchable alike find great joy in making his neighbor the butt of a joke and calling him "The Fool."
The most believable explanation of rhe beginning of All Fools' Day stems from the great calendar change which was introduced by Julian in 46 B. C. Before that time, the New Year had oegun at a much more sensible time than now; it began with the coming of Spring and occurred on the date of the vernal equinox. The antique festivities, held all over the world, cegan on March 25 and were very serious in character. The final day of the festivity was a day of celebration and joy, marked by humor and good will. After the change in the calen- dar, those who could not get used to the new system of dating were called
'April fools" because they were amusing to those who did not share their confusion.
The best Christian explanation comes from a man named Bellingen, who wrote an Etymology of French Proverbs in 1656. Bellingen points out tha ~ the day celebrated the time during the first Holy Week when Our Lord was sent backwards and for- wards to be mocked first from An- anias to Caiaphas, then to Pilate, then to Herod, and finally back again to Pilate; April first was considered the time of His mocking or being made the fool.
How this turned into our custom of attempting to fool our friends is not clear; it is certain that the prac- tice began to be popular throughout Great Britain bv the beginning of the
18th century, when it was the custom to send the naive out for a copy of the G enealogy of the Mother of Eve or for a pint of pigeon's milk. The person duped was called the "April Fool."
In Scotland the practice was the THE METEOR
same, but the epithet applied to the victim was different. Playing a trick was thought as sending the victim "hunting the gowk" (gook) and the vocrom wno got burned was called no... "April-gowke." All of this comes clear when the word "Gowk" is trans- lated as "cuckoo." Even then, as it is now, to be "cuckoo" is to be univer- sally scoffed.
The French took over the English practice, but they too changed the name applied to the victim. The word "Passion"-used to refer to the events of Holy Week mentioned above-was twisted into "poisson' (fish); the victim was called poisson d'Avril (the April-fish or dupe). Per- haps the same thing happened in Germany, where the word bankfisch (which now means "adolescent") is sometimes used on April first.
Whatever its beginning, April Fools' Day has usually been a day of good clean fun. Sometimes it isn't, as we see in the following delightful French anecdote:
A French lady visited a friend's house on April I, 1817 and pocketed a small watch. When she was ques- tioned by the police, she said it was un poisson d'Avril, an April joke. On denying the possession of the watch, she was forced to go with the police to her apartment, where the time- piece was found to be on the mantel. She claimed that she had made the police un poisson d'Avril. She was thereupon convicted and imprisoned until April I, 1818. She was then dis- charged, comme un poisson d'Avril.
'Bye.
Headmaster's Study
(Continued from page 4, col. 3) lived in Lynchburg I knew many of your Masters and students."
To Mrs. Almond we express the thanks and appreciation of all at the School for her thoughtfulness and generosity in presenting to us such a gift. We shall cherish it for its in- trinsic and sentimental values and at the same time look upon it as an- other reminder that those who have once known our School are always in- terested in it. Geo. L. Barton, Jr.
(Note. It is historically interesting that Judith's Creek is the only land- mark mentioned in the grant which has retained its name these two hun- dred years. The James River, in its upper stretch from its confluence with the Rivanna to the Blue Ridge was once known as the Fluvanna, while a strip of land on the south side of the River was once a part of Albe- marle County. G. L. B.)
People In The Public Eye
(Continued from poge 5, col. I)
Signs say that Goon is campaign- ing for H. C.
Mr. Bartol has written McCarthy for some helpful hints as to the best methods of gumshoeing, brain wash- ing and giving the 3rd degree.
The spring break out is here. Mr. Z. caught the first phases in the form of darkness, flying books and a terrible odor.
The "V" Club will be opened night- ly for wine, women and song after Mr. G. gives back their license.
Doc is grooming Woolery for an- other quick draw artist.
Rope has been seen hedge hop- ping in the general direction of Baber's house.
Little Tarzan is still a favorite with the Red heads.
Barker has gone all out and de- clared war on t he faculty.
Soggy Sam wants his name in the news so his women can follow in his path of greatness.
Ath is given to chucking the cheeks of masters. Odd!
Breelo and Tiny Tims had it out in proper form.
Butler says quote "I'd be better'n Farinholt if I could throw, hit and run. Woolery and Ath make like their heroes and pull through the test of death to become blood brothers with
the immortals.
WEBB-WHITAKER Sport Clothes For Young Men
E. H. S. Victors By Ten Points
E. H. S. broke a tight ball game up with five points in the opening minutes of the final period and went on to de-
feat the Bishops 52-42.
The Bishops fought back from a ten-
point deficit to draw within two points of E. H. S. at half-time.
E. H. S. held a narrow margin at the end of the third period 36 to 34.
Boyd, Ainslie and Smith were high men for E. H. S. while Daughtry and Farinholt were high men for V. E. S. with ten points apiece.
6-11 I 12 3-7 5 13 1-2 0 I 0 - 2 4 8 1-2 0 I
II
E.H.S.
Barker .. .. . ... ... . Smith .. .......... McBryde . Ainslie . .. ... ...... ) Boyd ............. 5 Bass ..•....... 0 Corte r . . • . . . . . . . 4 Dunn .............. 0
G F PF TP 00-000 5 0-0 2 10 2 3-3 4 7
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