April Fool's Day is traditionally a day to play practical jokes on others, send people on fool's errands, and fool the unsuspecting. No one knows how this holiday began but it was thought to have originated in France.

傳統(tǒng)上來講,愚人節(jié)這一天,人們可以相互搞惡作劇,騙人跑腿,欺騙不知情的人。沒人知道這個節(jié)日是怎么來的,但人們普遍認為它源自法國。

The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. New Year's was celebrated on March 25 and celebrations lasted until April 1st. When New Year's Day as changed from March 25 to January 1st in the mid-1560's by King Charles IX, there were some people who still celebrated it on April 1st and those people were called April Fools.

慶祝愚人節(jié)最早是在1582年,在法國。那時,當時法國新年是在3月25日,一直持續(xù)到4月1日。16世紀60年代中期,國王查理九世把新年從3月25日變?yōu)?月1日,而還有一些人在4月1日過新年,這些人就被稱作四月傻瓜了。

Pranks performed on April Fool's Day range from the simple, (such as saying, "Your shoe's untied!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate's alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. The news media even gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool's Day was a fairly detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"

愚人節(jié)那天的惡作劇有的很簡單(比如,說句“你鞋帶開了!”),有的卻是精心設(shè)計的。把室友的鬧鐘往后調(diào)一小時是常見的。甚至新聞媒體都來湊熱鬧。比如,在愚人節(jié)那天,曾經(jīng)有一部英國短片較為詳細地記錄了“種意大利面的農(nóng)民”,以及他們?nèi)绾螐囊獯罄鏄渖鲜斋@意大利面。不管是什么惡作劇,搞惡作劇的人通常在最后會對被搞的人喊一句:"四月傻瓜!"

April Fool's Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It's simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!

愚人節(jié)是一個“僅為娛樂”的節(jié)日。誰也不用買禮物,也不用帶著男/女朋友出去到一家豪華餐廳去吃飯。人們也不會放假。它僅僅是個搞笑的小節(jié)日,但是在這一天,每個人都要保持警醒,不然就要被人耍啦。

Each country celebrates April Fool's differently. In France, the April Fool's is called "April Fish" (Poisson d'Avril). The French fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs and when some discovers this trick, they yell "Poisson d'Avril!".

每個國家用不同的方式過愚人節(jié)。在法國,愚人節(jié)被稱作“April Fish”。法國人和他們的朋友是這樣開玩笑的:把一張裁成魚形的紙用膠帶粘到朋友的后背上,當有人發(fā)現(xiàn)的時候,他們就會喊:“Poisson d'Avril!”.

In England, tricks can be played only in the morning. If a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle". In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long and you are called an "April Gowk", which is another name for a cuckoo bird. The second day in Scotland's April Fool's is called Taily Day and is dedicated to pranks involving the buttocks. Taily Day's gift to posterior posterity is the still-hilarious "Kick Me" sign.

在英國,只能在早上搞惡作劇。如果你被耍了,那你就是“面條”。在蘇格蘭,愚人節(jié)要持續(xù)2天,被耍的人被稱為“四月布谷”。蘇格蘭第二天的愚人節(jié)叫做Taily Day,惡作劇主要在別人的屁股上做文章。

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