April Fools Day: History and Facts

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What is April Fools Day?

April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day is a day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on a fool’s errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year’s Day the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.

What is the history of April Fools Day?

In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is set Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two. Chaucer probably meant 32 days after March, i.e. May 2, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381. However, readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean “March 32,” i.e April 1. In Chaucer’s tale, the vain cock Chauntecler is tricked by a fox.

In 1508, a French poet referred to a poisson d’avril, a possible reference to the holiday. In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on April 1. In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the holiday as “Fooles holy day”, the first British reference. On April 1, 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to “see the Lions washed.” The name “April Fools” echoes that of the Feast of Fools, a Medieval holiday held on December 28.

In the Middle Ages, New Year’s Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European towns. In some areas of France, New Year’s was a week-long holiday ending on April 1. So it is possible that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates. The use of January 1 as New Year’s Day was common in France by the mid-sixteenth century, and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon.

In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the time of Noah. According to an English newspaper article published in 1789, the day had its origin when Noah sent his dove off too early, before the waters had receded; he did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April.

What are other days that people play jokes around the world?

Iranians play jokes on each other on the 13th day of the Persian new year, which falls on April 1 or April 2. This day, celebrated as far back as 536 BC, is called Sizdah Bedar and is the oldest prank-tradition in the world still alive today; this fact has led many to believe that April Fools’ Day has its origins in this tradition.

The April 1 tradition in France and French-speaking Canada includes poisson d’avril, attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim’s back without being noticed. This is also widespread in other nations, such as Italy is also used to refer to any jokes done during the day). In Spanish-speaking countries, similar pranks are practiced on December 28, día de los Santos Inocentes, the “Day of the Holy Innocents”. This custom also exists in certain areas of Belgium, including the province of Antwerp. The Flemish tradition is for children to lock out their parents or teachers, only letting them in if they promise to bring treats the same evening or the next day.

In Poland, prima aprilis is a day full of jokes; various hoaxes are prepared by people, media and even public institutions. Serious activities are usually avoided. This conviction is so strong that the anti-Turkish alliance with Leopold I signed on April 1, 1683, was backdated to March 31.

In Scotland, April Fools’ Day is traditionally called Hunt-the-Gowk Day, although this name has fallen into disuse. The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message requesting help of some sort. In fact, the message reads “Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile”. The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this person with an identical message, with the same result. Also Scotland has 2 whole days for pranks, April 1 and April 2.

In Denmark the 1st of May is known as “Maj-kat”, meaning “May-cat”, and is identical to April Fools’ Day, though Danes also celebrate April Fools’ Day.

In Spain and Ibero-America, an equivalent date is December 28, Christian day of celebration of the Massacre of the Innocents. The Christian celebration is a holiday in its own right, a religious one, but the tradition of pranks not, though the latter is observed yearly. After somebody plays a joke or a prank on somebody else, the joker usually cries out, in some regions of Ibero-America: “Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar”, as a popular expression. In Spain is common to say just “¡Inocente!”.

Resource by S.Henniman

I am an aspiring artist and writer from Phoenix Arizona. I enjoy golfing, skiing, college football, and hanging out with my two favorite girls (my wife and 4 year old daughter).

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