April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day
An "April Fools' Day" hoax marking the construction of the Copenhagen Metro in 2001
Also called	All Fools' Day
Type	Cultural, Western
Significance	Practical jokes
Date	April 1
Observances	Humour

April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 every year. On this day, practical jokes (or April Fools) are played on friends and family. The jokes are done to embarrass them. In some countries, April Fools only last until noon, and if someone plays a joke after, they are an April Fool.

Origins

People have set aside a special day for playing jokes for centuries. The ancient Romans had a holiday called Hilaria.

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. Some people think that April Fools' started because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.

Long standing customs

United Kingdom

This custom makes no sense at all until one remembers how much colder the climate was before the 19th/20th century. Great rivers like the Thames were frozen over in the winter, and young people used to skate on them in wintertime.

In the U.K., a person playing a joke would yell "April Fool!" at the recipient. According to tradition, the joking was supposed to stop at midday.

Scotland

In Scotland, April Fools’ Day used to be for two days. One of them was called Gowk’s Day. "Gowk" in Scots can mean either a cuckoo or a fool. Playing pranks on someone on April Fools’ Day was called "hunting the gowk." A classic prank was to ask someone to deliver a closed letter with a note inside. This note would tell the receiver to send the messenger on another silly task, then another... until someone felt sorry for them.

Nordic countries

In the Nordic countries, many news outlets would publish or broadcast a fake news story on April 1.

France

In France, an April fools joke is called a "Poisson d'Avril" (April fish). One tradition there is to try and stick a paper fish on one's friends back, and shout "Poisson d'Avril!" when it is discovered.

Media outlets

Sometimes a large media corporation would broadcast or publish a fake news story on April 1. For example, in 1957 the BBC broadcast a story about spaghetti trees. According to the story, people in Switzerland grew spaghetti on trees. Later, many people called the BBC asking how they could get a spaghetti tree.

Other websites

Media related to April Fools' Day at Wikimedia Commons