The origins of April Fools’ Day, which is observed on April 1 every year, are unknown, however it has been observed for many centuries by many different cultures. On April 1st, it’s customary to pull practical pranks or hoaxes on other people while exclaiming “April Fools!” at the conclusion to reveal the target of the prank. Although its precise origins are unknown, the unofficial holiday has a lengthy history thanks to the media and well-known companies’ acceptance of jokes on April 1st.
Origins of April Fools’ Day
Some historians speculate that April Fools’ 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. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.
Those who celebrated the new year during the final week of March to April 1 were labeled “April fools” because they were slow to catch on to the change or didn’t understand that it had been shifted to January 1. They were called “poisson d’avril” (April fish), which is thought to represent a juvenile, easily caught fish and a foolish individual, and had paper fish placed on their backs.
Hilaria in Roman antiquity
Moreover, historians have connected April Fool’s Day to celebrations like Hilaria (Latin for happy), which Cybele devotees observed at the end of March in ancient Rome. It was supposed to have been influenced by the Egyptian narrative of Isis, Osiris, and Seth and entailed individuals dressing up in disguises and making fun of fellow citizens as well as judges.
April 1st and the Vernal Equinox
The vernal equinox, or the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, is thought to be the origin of April Fools’ Day. On this day, Mother Nature deceived people with unpredictable weather changes.
April Fools’ Day history
Throughout Britain, April 1 became a national holiday in the 18th century. In Scotland, the custom evolved into a two-day celebration that included “hunting the gowk,” during which people were sent on fictitious errands (the word “gowk” is a play on the word “fool”), and “Taillie Day,” which involved playing practical jokes on people’s behinds by attaching fake tails or “kick me” signs to them.
Pranks on April 1st
In the modern day, sophisticated April Fools’ Day pranks have been created by people going to tremendous efforts. The April 1 tradition of publishing outlandish fabrications that have deceived their readers has been practiced by publications such as newspapers, radio stations, television stations, and websites.
In 1957, the BBC broadcast footage of individuals gathering noodles from trees and claimed that Swiss farmers were harvesting a record amount of spaghetti. When he published a made-up tale about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 mph in 1985, Sports Illustrated writer George Plimpton duped many readers.
Richard Nixon announced that he will be running for president once more in a 1992 National Public Radio advertisement. Nevertheless, the episode was a surprise April Fools’ Day hoax that involved an actor rather than Nixon.
When the fast-food restaurant giant Taco Bell declared in 1996 that it had agreed to buy Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell, it deceived the public. After Burger King promoted a “Left-Handed Whopper” in 1998, a large number of uninformed consumers asked for the bogus meal. Every year on April 1st, Google is known to conduct a practical joke that has ranged from “telepathic search” to the ability to play Pac Man on Google Maps.
The standard April 1 prank of covering the toilet with plastic wrap or switching the contents of the salt and sugar containers is always an option for the common trickster.