Happy All Fool's Day

No April Fooling here today. I'm either not creative enough or don't wish to fool you, but I didn't want to ignore the day either. So we'll take a folkloric approach to it.

From Wikipedia:

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is a day celebrated in various countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on a fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, such as the UK, Australia, and South Africa the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".[1] Elsewhere, such as in France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S., the jokes last all day. The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.

From Infoplease:

Ancient cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn't fully account for the spread of April Fools' Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools' Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.

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It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.

Another site that explains well for the elementary and middle school set: April Fool's Day although it doesn't offer alternate possibilities, it's well-written with what it offers including some extras about "kick me" signs and the like.

And for your reading humor, The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time. (I have to agree with the masses that the spaghetti harvest is one of the best of all time.)

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The Problem with Fairy Tales by Kirsty Logan

This article recently appeared on The Millions, The Problem with Fairy Tales by Kirsty Logan. Here's an excerpt:

There are two ways to retell an old story: just tell the same story again, or try to subvert it. The problem with fairy tales is that they are more than just old stories. They’re mythic cultural knowledge: they have been removed from their sociological roots to float in a timeless limbo, seeping into all of us since childhood. In order to subvert something, we must be able to analyze it. But writers cannot simply step outside the mythic framework of cultural knowledge. If they cannot upend the entire myth, can they subvert it at all?

Three contemporary retellings approach the fairy tale of Snow White in interesting ways: Neil Gaiman’s story “Snow Glass Apples” from his collection Smoke and Mirrors, Emma Donoghue’s story “The Tale of the Apple” from her collection Kissing the Witch, and Francesca Lia Block’s story “Snow” from her collection The Rose and the Beast. They all twist the old story, but do they subvert it?

The rest of the article discusses the works mentioned above and their usage of Snow White. I confess I don't care if they are "subversive" versions of the tale or not as the article explores them, but the analysis is interesting unto itself whatever the thesis. In other words, whether or not you care if the retellings are subversive versions of the tale, the article is interesting and lucid. It would make a fine resource for a student paper, for example.


My favorite part of the article is the final paragraph which briefly addresses the usage of "fairy tale" today as a synonym for a "perfect fantasy."

A prevalent idea today is that “fairy tale” translates as “perfect.” A Google search for “fairytale wedding” produces 130,000 results. We relate fairy tales to romance, perfection, childhood innocence and magic. It may not be easy for writers to give up romantic ideas of fairy tales as magical stories for children and admit the unsavory side of the myth. Perhaps we simply can’t bear to see Snow White without her prince. It may not be easy to step outside the mythic framework, but if writers are to subvert the myth they must first come to terms with it.

I think most writers and readers for young adults and adults fully embrace the unsavory sides of fairy tales, by the way. It's the rest of the population who depends on the pop culture perception to make their definitions.

I don't care if fairy tales are "subverted" or not, implying that we shouldn't explore them unless they are since they don't always fall into our politically correct perceptions these days. I approach them as elements of our cultural being and how we treat and handle them continues to represent our modern sensibilities, some of which have changed drastically and others which haven't so much whether we admit it to ourselves or not.

Isn't that enough fly-by-night philosophy for today from me? :) It's a good article so please click through and read it.

Finally, if you are interested in reading more Snow White interpretations, see Modern Interpretations of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on SurLaLune.

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Little Blue Riding Hood?

Found this article last week and although its not new information it, provides an opportunity to think about the importance of red in fairy tales. From Marketing and the colour red:

So what does marketing have to do with one of the most common colours used in sport and on national flags? The answer is: everything! In brand conversations , colour matters. In a frenzied world where your advertising must shout loudest, red is the surest way to hit the decibel level, visually that is. Market research indicates that over 80% of all visual information is related to colour. Brands with legacy colour constructs like Marlboro and Coca-Cola take their colours very seriously. In fact, according to Cokelore, Santa Claus wore green until the cola giant began to promote Santa in red garb in the 1950s. [Not true, plenty of red Santas before Coke did it.]

But red’s popularity is its menace. Human predisposition for all things sangria red, candy apple, sassy cherry, crazy plum, raspberry glow and straight-up red, means more red in logos, packaging , web-sites and advertising. Take the telecom sector for instance, Vodafone, Virgin and Airtel, all scream red. When Hutch left, its pink stars left with it. However for Shripad Nadkarni of MarketGate Consulting at least Hutch had different colour point of view. “Colours have their own vocabulary. A brand must not associate itself with the entire spectrum of emotions the colour evokes,” he says. Problem of plenty particularly in new markets say design experts like Sujata Keshavan, MD, Ray & Keshavan. “Red is one of the most practically reliable and stable colours and no client rejects red. It is a mass colour and that’s a challenge. One can end up using the 134th shade of red.”

A colour, which one associates with all from Saint Valentine to Ernesto Guevara, marketers must use with caution. While the fiery colour works for Bono’s (Product) Red, the Red Cross and Red Bull and brands that want to send a strong message, it might not be suitable for a company in a slump. Although nowadays colours in marketing mainstream are hues of eco green, purity blue and calm pink, red still boasts some serious power when it comes to brands. For one it’s the quickest way to get eyeballs. Latika Khosla of Freedom Tree design says, “Red is an advancing colour. Marketers have traditionally used the colour because it conquers. However, if not used correctly it can cause dissonance and unwanted contrast.”

Now if only little Red Riding Hood had known what marketers know today the tale wouldn’t have had a Grimm end.

So the question is: Would Little Blue Riding Hood have been as effective a story? Red with the emotions and associations it induces is of course critical to the tale. Even in most of the pastiches of the tale, the red hood is rarely tampered with, sometimes the only recognizable element. Our ancestors knew this without market research. Weren't they a smart bunch?

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No Beast So Fierce by Patrick Garson

I've been dealing with spotty internet connection all week. Which means that several items I've had in draft have not received final edits and been published. Most were not time critical so I'm bumping them to later this month. This explains late posts and my random timing, if anyone is noticing.

A recent post on Tor.com discussed Beauty and the Beast as well as some of its illustrations. See No Beast So Fierce by Patrick Garson.

In writing on fairy tales, there’s often a functionalist bent to the analysis. This means that tend we view fairy tales as fulfilling societal need: they contribute to the stability of a group or culture. In this way, characters and predicaments become allegories: practice for situations we may face ourselves in real life, or a form of ‘safe’ role play. Red Riding Hood is not about hiking in the forest; it’s a warning about wolves, about prostitution, a tale of sexual awakening, and so on, and so on.

I like this kind of analysis. It’s important because it dives under the smooth-looking surface of fairy tales, and stirs up a surprising turbidity. It makes us question unspoken assumptions (why is the youngest child always the special one?), and highlights the significance of story-telling in learning. However, I don’t think it’s always perfect. By our very framing of fairy tales in this way–somewhat didactic way, orientated around adherence and cohesion—I think we sometimes lend them a static quality that they don’t always deserve.

And, of course, you may explore more images of the Beast in the Beauty and the Beast Illustration Gallery on SurLaLune. To be candid, searching for different renditions of the beast was part of my motivation in gathering illustrations to share so many years ago. It is still one of my favorite galleries to explore.

(And Gypsy at Once Upon a Blog has also referenced this post this week. I am glad things are going well, Gypsy. You're in my thoughts and prayers!)

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