April fools day falls on April 1st every year. This holiday, in many Western countries, is traditionally an occasion for playing tricks and pranks on other people. This custom has been observed for hundreds of years, but its origin is still unknown.
Since April Fools Day coincided with Easter this year, many children received a pranked Easter basket. As seen on social media, some baskets were filled with cleaning products, baking goods or even canned goods.
Sophomore Emily Rodas says she has never gotten pranked, but every year she pranks her younger brother. Rodas was also asked why she thought this holiday was celebrated. She told us it was to get laughs and lighten up the mood of everyone around the world. “I have no idea where it came from.” when asked her where this holiday originated from.
Sophomore Lydia Alicea considers herself an expert of this sneaky holiday. “I prank my brother every single year,” she says she has never pulled the same prank and he it falls for a new one every year.
History
April Fools Day dates back to the 1700s according to History.com when it was called All Fools’ Day but its exact origins are a mystery. Some believe the tradition may have begun over two hundred years prior to that when France switched calendars at the Council of Trent in 1563. The Julian calendar was proposed by Julius Caesar in 46BC and was followed by most of the European world. The calendar was revised to the Gregorian calendar when it was realized that three days were added every four centuries. When this calendar shift occurred, people got confused on when the start of the year was. They continued to celebrate the last week of March through April 1. Those that hadn’t received word of the change in calendars were viewed as the butt of people’s jokes.
Another theory comes from France. According to the Library of Congress, a person who is tricked on April 1 is called “April fish.” A 1508 poem by Eloy D’Amerval called Le Livre de la Deablerie hints to the fact that fish in April were plentiful and easy to catch. This made them more gullible thank any other time of year.
Pranking someone doesn’t just occur on April Fools Day, but shrink wrapping someone’s car would make for a funny prank.
Some believe the holiday is centered around the vernal equinox signaling the start of spring. With the weather changing so dramatically, some say it was Mother Nature playing tricks on people. This year, April Fools Day tempts in New Jersey got into the 60s with clear skies. But the very next day, at least three inches of snow blanketed the state. Just one of Mother Nature’s pranks.
STATS
It is a proven fact that 89,000,000 people all around the world participate in the fun holiday. The highest percent of people who pull pranks are friends against other friends.
Most people’s attitude towards April Fools Day is mischievous, but 7% of those celebrants are just paranoid the whole day. Some people get very annoyed by people constantly trying to prank them. But what some think is annoying, others think is very fun.
