April Fools Day - How Did It Come About?

Well it’s that time of the year again, April 1st, a day when each of us are given permission to play a joke on one of our friends or co-workers. But how exactly did this day come about? Here’s a brief history on April Fools Day.

April Fools Day seems to have no definite starting point, like Christmas or 4th of July. Rather, April Fools Day appears to have had a slow evolution toward modern day. It seems to be the result of the convergence of various cultural beliefs and practices which held a common theme, the emergence from the doldrums of winter. The first of April is recognized as a day of pranks not only in the United States, but also in France, Germany, and Great Britain. In India, the feast of Huli occurs in March. The final day of Huli is March 31, and is traditionally celebrated by acts of mischief. In France, a fool is sometimes called a “poisson d’Avril” (April fish). In Scotland, a fool is called an “April gowk” or “April cuckoo”.
On my way in to work this morning, they said on the radio that April Fools started back when they changed the calendar. It was said at one point people used to celebrate the new year in April. When the new year was changed to January, they called the people who continued to celebrate the new year in April, April Fools. April Fools is also celebrated in some Latin American countries, such as Peru and Colombia. It is celebrated on December 28, hence its name is not “April Fools” . It is called “Dia de los Inocentes” which in English it would be “The Candids’ Day”.

So in honor of this glorious day, here’s some funny April Fools prank I found online:

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