History of April Fools Day

“The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.” 
–Mark Twain

April 1st, April Fools Day, All fools day, Poisson d’Avril, or by any other name, is the day that we play practical jokes, pranks, and basically, act like fools. The origins of it, however, are not as widely known, unlike the crazy happenings of the day.

Although, there really is no “first April Fool’s Day”, it is widely believed that April Fools Day originated in France when Pope Gregory XIII, changed the calendar, and moved New Years to the first of January as it is now.

Before then, New Years was celebrated in or around April first. During the late 16th century word traveled slowly across the country about the calendar change, but even after word of the new start of the year reached some, they refused to accept it, and were considered fools by the more common place folk and sent on a “fool’s errand” or tricked to believe false truths.

Many cultures around the world, and throughout time, have had similar days around the same time of year. The Romans had the festival Hilaria, the Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim.

No matter the origin, April Fools Day remains one of the most widely spread celebrations in the world. And in my opinion, with the right crowd, one of the most entertaining of them all.