Be careful what you say, and who you say it to.

By Princess B. Abuluyan

It was 2004, my senior year of high school, and Senior Ball was coming up.

Sacramento had been experiencing several inches of heavy rain for the past couple of days.

With Senior Ball just twenty-three days away, seniors never expected something like this to happen. Students had walked into the classroom drizzled wet from rain, and were getting settled in their seats. The intercom turns on—morning announcements.

“Awful news for seniors…,” says the school’s activities director.

Eyes grew big and jaws dropped open, faces suddenly looking shocked. Seniors couldn’t believe their ears. Even I couldn’t believe my ears.

The intercom turns off.

What happened? Rain had flooded the Lincoln Plaza where Senior Ball was scheduled to be at. Perhaps one huge leak in the roof. Or, in this case, probably 5 or more. Damages were so severe; repairs to fix them would take time, twenty-two days was not enough to have the place fixed by Senior Ball. And it was too late to make reservations elsewhere. So, Senior Ball would be in the school’s gymnasium.

“This can’t be real! I didn’t pay $65 to have Senior Ball here at school.”

Unbelievable! But true. Or at least that’s what seniors thought.

The intercom turns back on.

“Seniors…,” says the activities director. He pauses for a moment to spark their curiosity, and then says, “…have a HAPPY, April Fool’s Day! Senior Ball will be at Lincoln Plaza in Downtown Sacramento. See you there!”

Relief! But stupid April Fool’s Day, you got me!

How did it ever become a holiday anyway? Well, there’s no exact answer, it’s lost in history. But the most common answer is that it started in sixteenth-century France when April first was regarded as the start of a new year.

A new year was celebrated the same way it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night, according to Mary Bellis’ article “The History of April Fool’s Day.”

Then Pope Gregory presented a new calendar in 1562—January first is the start of a new year. “Some people hadn’t heard or didn’t believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April first,” says Bellis. “April fools,” is what others would call them.

That’s the story. Well, 1 explanation.

So April first—people play jokes or tricks on other people, try to make them believe that something false is true.

It’s really supposed to be fun and entertaining—no hard feelings, no offense intended. But if an April fool’s joke doesn’t have people laughing at the end, something must have been done wrong. Such experiences can make April Fool’s Day someone’s least favorite holiday for the remainder of the year.

Here’s a tip. Be careful with playing jokes and tricks on people. Take my experiences for it.

In middle school, a best friend told me she had been diagnosed with cancer. It didn’t occur to me that the date that day was April first. But hearing those words come out of my friend’s mouth, her shaky voice along with the sad face she displayed—my heart was crushed, and my mouth speechless. And then she tells me, “Oh no, don’t cry, I’m only joking. Today’s April Fool’s Day.”

“Are you serious,” I said hysterically. We laughed. But shortly after, I didn’t feel like laughing anymore. I turned to her and angrily said, “Oh my gosh Amber, you scared the crap out of me! You can’t joke about something like having cancer, that’s serious stuff!” She realized it was wrong, and apologized. We just hope now that it doesn’t come true. “Knock on wood.”

Another friend once told me his grandmother died. Feeling sympathy, I said, “That’s awful. I’m sorry.” And then he said, “April Fools!” I told him he was crazy. Okay, who jokes about someone dying? That’s a bit cruel right? Again, “knock on wood.”

There’s also the time my 13-year-old cousin, Valore, said her older sister was pregnant. Boy did that story quickly spread around to relatives like a disease. She was sorry she said it. “No, it’s not true. I was only joking. I thought you knew. It’s April Fool’s Day,” she said hours later. Not everyone recognizes April Fool’s Day. Some people wake up and it’s just like any other regular day to them.

Some pranks could have consequences. Like turning a friend’s watch forward an hour. The next day, she’s late to class and gets lectured by the teacher about the importance of arriving to class on time. Ouch! Embarrassed? Yes. Upset at prankster? Yes.

Be careful which pranks or jokes to play, and which people to play it on. Have some sense what the outcome will be, because it could be a joke taken seriously. Like another person’s junk is another person’s treasure, a joke to one person may not be a joke to another. As fun as joking around can get, try not to ruin April Fool’s Day for people.