Dear Broadway Family,
Today is the first day of April - April 1st, also known as ‘April Fools Day,’ the day when folk, all around the world, play tricks on each other, but does anyone know how this day started? Interestingly no one seems to know how, when or where it started. There are many speculations but among all of that, one thing we do know is that April Fools Day dates back to at least renaissance Europe, but it may have originated long before then. According to NPR, “Some historians have linked April Fools Day to the ancient Roman festival of “Hilaria,” where at the end of March, people would come together to commemorate the resurrection of the god Attis. It is a celebration of the renewal in which revelers would dress up in disguise and imitate others.” Others believe that it could have started in the 16th century when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, but some believe that it may go as far back as the story of the floods and Noah’s Ark in Old Testament book of Genesis. The London Public Advertiser of March 13, 1769 shared, "The mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated, on the first day of April, and to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the patriarch.”
However this day may have started, and however some may use this day to play tricks on family and friends, and even though the weather also may seem to be playing tricks on us, I am grateful that our God plays no tricks but continues to call us and call us beloved! We may be vulnerable sometimes and weak, but that doesn't disqualify us from God’s favor.
