We begin July with the birthday to our country and we end the month with a fitting farewell when we celebrate on July 24 National Tell an Old Joke Day. This is the day when family comes together and sit around the dinner table with their glass of warm cider and tell old jokes around the fire. A little history behind this solemn celebration. We read in Ovid that this day began in ancient Rome. Augustus would open the senate with a joke form yonder past. It was picked up by the monks in Ireland. The monks carefully copied all the great texts from the Greek and Roman world, especially the writing of Aristotle and Plato but as Venerable Bede writes in his history of the Roman World the greatest care was preserving the Old Joke Book from the Roman Senate. During the Dark Ages this venerable tradition and holy holiday was largely forgotten until July 24 2014 when a Catholic Priest in his reading of ancient texts discovered this great holiday. The President of the United States and the full congress have decreed that as of today July 24 is to be called from now on National Tell and Old Joke Day.
So to kick off this party I, Father Stefan, will give the first Old JOKE.
What is a Humorist?
A person who originates old joke.