How Did April Fools Day Start?

The origins for the holiday are a bit unclear. No one really knows how April Fools' Day started; but, there are a few theories.

Calendar-Shift Theory

One possible theory of where April Fools' Day came from is when the French king Charles IX decreed that the beginning of the year be moved from the end of March to January 1. Until the 1560s, the French new year began at the end of March with a week-long celebration that culminated in a big party thrown on April 1. Legend has it that when the king decreed that the new year begin in January, news traveled slowly, and some people refused to make the change. These people were said to have been invited to fake parties and sent on “fool’s errands”.

This theory doesn’t really hold water, though, when you consider that calendar reform didn’t happen that suddenly. The Julian Calendar (the one that begins January 1) was established by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and the French typically regarded January 1 as the traditional start of the year, but for legal and administrative purposes, the new year officially began on Easter. This is problematic because the date of Easter changes every year.

In short, it was a mess, and the calendar change took place over the course of at least 20 years, giving people plenty of time to find out about and adjust to it. Furthermore, there are historical references to a day of trickery and a reference by a French poet to April 1st as poisson d’Avril – “April fish,” the French term applied to the victim of a prank – dating back to the early 1500s.

The holiday is mentioned again in 1539 by the Finnish poet Eduard de Dene. Dene writes of a nobleman who played a prank on one of his servants on April 1st. He purposely sent the servant on inane and foolish errands throughout the day.

The holiday is again mentioned in 1686 when John Aubrey referred to the day as “Fooles holy day.”

In 1698, there is a record of a multiple of people that were tricked into going to the Tower of London for the purpose of seeing the lions washed on April 1st.

Canterbury Tales

Another source cites the holiday back to the author Chaucer. The holiday was mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which dates back to 1392.

In the story, the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is meant to begin thirty days after March. This would place it at May 2nd. At the time, readers were confused with the phrasing by Chaucer, and thought that he meant “March 32nd” which would be another way of saying “April 1st.” When this date rolls around in the story, the character of Chauntecler is tricked by a fox.

Spring Festival Theory

Historians believe that a more likely theory is that modern April Fools' Day traditions derive from spring/renewal festivals, which have been common in just about every culture since cultures began.

These festivals often included pranks and jokes, the donning of disguises, and a general inversion of the social order to symbolize the reversal of the seasons, from winter death to spring rebirth. Common practices might have included servants giving orders to their masters, parodies of church rituals, throwing colored powder or water on people, or wearing disguises, depending on the culture.

Because April Fool’s Day shares so many similarities with these renewal festivals, many historians believe them to be the origins of our modern day of trickery.

Mythological Theories

In the 18th and 19th centuries, many scholars came to believe that April Fool’s Day was perhaps even older than they’d ever imagined before. A couple of theories were developed to support this belief, and while they definitely require a certain elasticity of the imagination, they are still theories deserving discussion.

The first mythological theory is this: Roman mythology tells the story of how Pluto, the god of the dead, kidnapped Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of grain and the harvest. Pluto took Proserpina to Hades, and although she called out to her mother for help, Ceres could only hear echoes of her daughter’s voice. Unable to tell where the cries were coming from, Ceres searched in vain for her daughter. Theorists suggest that this is the story of the first “fool’s errand,” and is therefore the basis for April Fool’s Day pranks.

Another theory is that early Christians wanted to Christianize all the world’s pre-existing holidays and suggested that the first “fool’s errand” was when Noah sent out the first dove from the ark – the one that returned because the floodwaters had not yet receded, and there was no place for the bird to land.

Famous April Fools Day Pranks

Regardless of what event started April Fools Day, it has been celebrated for centuries. Since the holiday has been around for so long, there have been a number of famous pranks throughout the years.

Some of the most well known April Fools’ Day pranks include the “Taco Liberty Bell” or the “Decimal Time.” The Taco Liberty Bell refers to an announcement by Taco Bell in 1996 that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to reduce debt in the United States. The Decimal Time joke refers to an announcement claiming that the time system will be changed to a system in which units of time are based on the power of ten.

Other famous pranks:

In 1965, the BBC announced that it was going to introduce a new technology called “Smell-o-vision.” Viewers contacted the station excited over the possibility of “smelling” their shows.

In 1998, Burger King took out an ad in USA Today. The ad stated that individuals could get a Whooper for left handed people whose condiments were designed to dry out of the right side. Customers believed the ad, and actually attempted to order the burgers. Right handed individuals tried to order the “old” burgers.

In the same year, a radio station ran a joke that a local mayor had died. However, listeners believed the joke, and the pair was subsequently fired.

A Canadian radio station ran a story stating that the Canadian five dollar bill was going to be replaced with a three dollar coin.

In New Zealand, the Prime Minister announced on a radio station that cell phones were going to be banned in New Zealand. This resulted in hundreds of angry telephone calls to the station.

Some companies have made it a tradition to play a prank on the whole public on April Fool’s day. These largescale pranks have become a beloved tradition. In England for example, two major companies release a prank every year:

The BMW Company releases and ad campaign every year in the British newspapers that proclaims the innovations they have incorporated into their cars. Each year these ads feature a fictitious innovation that is meant to make the consumer laugh.

The major broadcasting station in Britain, the BBC, also plays a joke or prank on its viewers most years, reporting some story that is meant to make them laugh. The story is just believable enough to make you wonder, until you catch on that it is false.

April Fools Celebrations

Certain countries celebrate the holiday different from other countries, although it always involves pranks. For example, if you are from the United Kingdom, South Africa, or parts of Canada, the jokes and pranks are only supposed to last until noon. If you pull a prank or play a joke after noon, then you are referred to as an “April Fool.”

If you are from France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, the United States, Germany, or Brazil, then the jokes last for the entire day.

While some of the world doesn’t celebrate April Fool’s Day, many cultures have some time of frivolity in the springtime within a week of April 1st. The Jews, for example, have the celebration of Purim, The Hindu celebrate Holi and the original celebration of the Hilaria in ancient Rome, and all of these holidays are close to April 1st. All of these coincided with the vernal equinox that is celebrated by much of the pagan world. It is a time of celebration of the Sun’s return and winter’s departure. It is a celebration of new life.

Over time, with so much of the western world taking part in the practice of pranks and tricks, these games have become a tradition and important part of celebrating April Fools. Now, by the time children are old enough for school, they are being taught that jokes and tricks are acceptable on this one day of the year. Adults may even have fun tricking children on this day, because they are so gullible and easily fooled.

As Mark Twain once wrote about April Fools, “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” Everyone is gullible to a certain degree and this tendency is not limited to only April 1st. People are taken in by jokes and schemes all through the year. There is a lesson to be learned amidst all the laughter and fun, as people learn to be on guard against false information and be prepared for unexpected things.