(A) April Fool (that would be me)

He got me. My friend Paddy got me this morning at 6:58am EDT.  I was just waking up and my phone bleeps with a message. It read...
"OMG, turn on the news, the elem(entary) school is on fire!"
I flew out of my bed and ran to the TV. I flipped through channels and saw nothing. I texted him back and asked which channel.  He writes...
1....
So I turn to channel 8 (which is 1 some towns and 8 in others).  The he texts me back saying
April....
I knew then it was an April Fools joke.  He's a dead man!!!

The French call April 1 Poisson d'Avril, or "April Fish." French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is discovered.

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.  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.