How April Fools’ Day Started

April Fools’ Day, also known as All Fools’ Day, is as much looked forward to by pranksters and naughty elder siblings worldwide as Christmas.

What other holiday, after all, inspires you to devise practical jokes and fool’s errands, such as switching your spouse’s keys or fooling a friend into believing their car was towed?

But first, how did this peculiar, prank-focused celebration get started, and why is it named April Fools’ Day?

Where did April Fools’ Day come from?

It’s certainly a fool’s errand to try to unravel the riddle around April Fools’ Day as its original beginnings are lost to history. Still, there are plenty of theories.

According to one legend, April Fools’ Day originated when France adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1564, replacing the previous Julian calendar, and moved New Year’s Day, which Christians had traditionally observed on Easter, to January 1. Since Easter is a lunar-based holiday that is subject to change, early adopters are supposed to have called those who observed the previous New Year’s Day “April fools.”

Another theory holds that Geoffrey Chaucer’s collection of stories from the 14th century, The Canterbury Tales, is responsible for April 1st becoming known as the fool’s holiday in the late Middle Ages. Chaucer makes a lighthearted reference to April 1st, or “32 March,” in “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.” However, most scholars believe Chaucer made a copying error.

However, there are also some very noticeable parallels between the holiday and some historical predecessors. Hilaria, an ancient Roman springtime celebration, took place on or around March 25. Indeed, the term “hilarious” is indeed linked.

An other comparison would be the Hindu spring festival of Holi, which takes place in late March and involves people dousing each other in colored powder and water to make amends and forget past transgressions.

Is it Fools’ Day or April’s Fools’ Day?

The apostrophe where does it go? At first, there was nothing!

For someone who has been duped on April Fools’ Day, the phrase “April fool” has been around since the 1600s. The celebration is referred to as April Fools’ Day in the 1800s, although it was first mentioned as April Fool Day in early records from the 1700s. Around this time, the term “April Fool” was coined to describe the practical joke.

These days, the celebration is stylized as April Fools’ Day, signifying several April fools—that is, April Fools—as well as April Fools’ Day, stressing an April fool as a distinct concept.

Additionally, remember to yell “April Fool! when the trick is discovered.

What are some famous April Fools’ Day pranks?

Some fast-food restaurants and media outlets have gone all out to create intricate April Fools’ Day scams. These four could put a smile on your face:

• The BBC carried out the “Spaghetti Tree Hoax” in 1957, in which the U.K. Images of Swiss ladies idly “picking” spaghetti from bushes and trees during their yearly harvest were shown on television.
• A stunning piece of programming aired on National Public Radio in 1992 featured former President Richard Nixon declaring he was seeking the presidency once more. Plot twist: The entire incident was a joke that took the entire nation by surprise, and it was an actor, not Nixon. The fun of April Fools’ Day at its best!
• The famous Liberty Bell in Philadelphia was announced to have been purchased by Taco Bell in 1996, with plans to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell.
• Burger King made the decision to play with reality in 1998. When they released the “Left-Handed Whopper” advertisement, guess what? Customers came flooding in, asking for this fictional lunch, looking confused.

Common Easy April Fool Pranks in the Philippines

1. Swap sleepers
2. Juice joke
3. Alarm clock fast forward
4. Sunday school for Kids
5. No one was at Home
6. Hiding of Neccessary Things
7. Dummy Accounts
8. Phone wallpaper
9. Faking Behavior
10. Changing Phone Password

April Fools’ Day in the Digital Age

Large corporations and well-known brands are accustomed to April Fools’ Day, despite the fact that internet users and memelords have their own unique interpretations of the holiday. These interpretations can range from harmless (and even naive) jokes about their own life, such insensitive pregnancy pranks, to bogus celebrity deaths. These brands have the chance to use the allure of fun, humor, and the timely nature of seasonal content to engage their audiences with a focused online marketing campaign over the Christmas season.

Even though April Fools’ Day is only observed on one day each year, it gives brands that have an internet presence the opportunity to be outrageous. Because of this, many people—many of whom are digital natives—have become accustomed to the April 1st jokes. However, many people who are not aware of the day still catch them off guard.

Nevertheless, as a general rule, never trust anything you see or hear on April 1st. Alternatively, observe the holiday with awareness and exercise caution when reading anything you come across on social media.

Conclusion

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