April 1st marks the day of pranks and celebration. It is a day when you can’t believe anything or anyone. While many set out to try and pull epic pranks, others choose to sit back and celebrate. This year, April Fool’s is actually coming along with another day of celebration, Easter! So that’s twice the amount of celebration if you’re planning anything. While many of us love this day, how much do we actually know about how it all started? Let’s take a quick history lesson, shall we?
On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fool’s Day by playing practical jokes on each other. Although the day, also called All Fool’s Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery.
Some historians speculate that April Fool’s Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and were subjected to many pranks. These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as Poisson D’avril or April fish, which symbolized a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Historians have also linked April Fool’s Day to festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There’s also speculation that April Fool’s Day was tied to the vernal equinox or the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere when Mother Nature fooled people with changing and unpredictable weather.
So now that you have a little more insight into this amusing day, let us know how you plan on spending it. Are you pulling any fun pranks? Let us know in the comments below.
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