April Fools Origin

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Kathleen Gibson, Head Photographer

We all know that one day to look out for; April the first. They call this April fools and it is known as the one day where everyone seems to want to prank everyone, whether this is in a small way or a big prank. This national day is a very weird day to celebrate, considering it’s all about tricking people. So, where did this day come from and why do we have it?

This day is also known as All Fools’ Day and its true origin is a big mystery, but historians have many theories about it. They believed it started when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1563. It started off when people who were slow to get the news or notice that the start of the year moved to January first and continued to celebrate the start of the year through the last week of March to April first. The tricks or pranks would start out with people putting paper fish on these peoples backs with the fish saying “poisson d’ avril” meaning April fish. April fish was known as a fish that could get caught really easily or as a really gullible person who believed everything they heard. April fools Day has also been associated with a festival called Hilaria, which was celebrated in Ancient Rome. Hilaria was celebrated at the end of March and it included people dressing in costumes. April fools may have also been associated with the vernal equinox or the first day in spring in the Northern Hemisphere when mother nature fooled people with the weather changing. This holiday is celebrated in many different places in different ways. So although this is a silly day, it looks like we are stuck with it and the people who constantly prank on this day.