Ever wondered why we celebrate April Fools' Day and why it’s traditional to pull pranks on each other?
Celebrated on the first day of April, April Fools' Day was first known as 'All Fools' Day' and has been popular since the 19th century. It's well-known in Europe, Australia, Canada, Brazil and the United States. Despite its popularity, it's not celebrated as a national holiday in any country.
Surprisingly, no one is quite sure how April Fools' Day started. The earliest recorded association between April 1st, pranks and foolishness can be found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales which was written in 1392.
However, the most popular theory about the origin of April Fools’ Day involves the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century.
In 1564 France reformed its calendar, moving the start of the year from the end of March to January 1. The people who failed to keep up with the change, who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th and April 1st, had jokes played on them.
Pranksters would secretly stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were called ‘Poisson d’Avril’, or April Fish - which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools.
In America, the pranks usually last throughout the entire day. However, here in the UK, they usually finish by noon.
Do you plan on being devious this April Fools' Day?
