How Did April Fools Day Come About?
Learning the History of April Fools Day
In sixteenth-century France,
the start of the new year was observed on April
first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it
is today with parties and dancing into the late
hours of the night. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory
introduced a new calendar for the Christian world,
and the new year fell on January first. There were
some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't
believe the change in the date, so they continued to
celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others
played tricks on them and called them "April fools."
They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make
them believe that something false was true. In
France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril."
French children fool their friends by taping a paper
fish to their friends' backs. When the "young fool"
discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson
d’Avril!" (April Fish!)
Today Americans play small tricks on friends and
strangers alike on the first of April. One common
trick on April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, is
pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your
shoelace is untied." Teachers in the nineteenth
century used to say to pupils, "Look! A flock of
geese!" and point up. School children might tell a
classmate that school has been canceled. Whatever
the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke
the prankster yells, "April Fool! "
The "fools' errands" we play on
people are practical jokes. Putting salt in the
sugar bowl for the next person is not a nice trick
to play on a stranger. College students set their
clocks an hour behind, so their roommates show up to
the wrong class - or not at all. Some practical
jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim
realizes what day it is. Most April Fool jokes are
in good fun and not meant to harm anyone. The most
clever April Fool joke is the one where everyone
laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke is
played.
"The first of April is the day we
remember what we are the other 364 days of the
year." - American humorist Mark Twain
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