The exact origins of April Fools’ Day are a mystery. Everyone knows today as a day that people play pranks, jokes and create elaborate hoaxes, all in good fun, to celebrate a day of mockery and laughter. In the modern era, April Fools’ Day has exploded in popularity after media and major brands and corporations embraced the tradition and promoted its status as a day of celebration.
As to the hypothetical origins of the day, some historians believe that April Fools may have originated around 1582, which is the year that France switched from the old Julian calendar to the new Gregorian calendar. This change was prompted by calls from the Council of Trent in 1563. Many people who were late in receiving the news or neglected to realize that the start of the new year was suddenly changed to January 1, and was not to remain the spring equinox of April 1, were ridiculed and became the butt of jokes. They had continued to celebrate the last week of March through to April 1, becoming known as “April fools”. Pranks played upon these unfortunately uninformed people included having a paper fish placed on their backs, supposedly symbolizing a young, naïve and gullible person. Some historians criticize this theory because they cite a reference to April Fools’ Day in a 1561 poem by Eduard de Dene. The Flemish poet wrote a poem about a nobleman who sent his servants on a series of foolish errands on April 1, predating the change of calendars.
The origins of the day, while mostly unknown, are also contested depending on where in the world the day is celebrated. Some historians, especially those specializing in ancient Rome, have speculated that April Fools’ Day originated as a festival called Hilaria, which is Latin for joyful. This festival was celebrated at the end of March by people who worshipped the cult of Cybele, the ancient Phrygian mother of the gods. As part of the festivities, people would dress up in disguised outfits to mock their fellow citizens, a revelry that is reminiscent of April Fools.
For people in the Northern Hemisphere, historians also considered that the origins may go back to the vernal equinox, the first day of the spring season when Mother Nature played jokes on insignificant humans by fooling them with changing, unpredictable and erratic weather patterns.
In the Netherlands, there is also an origin story that traces the beginnings of the day back to the Dutch victory in 1572 in the Capture of Brielle, a turning point in the uprising of the Low Countries against Spain in the Eighty Years’ War. The Spanish Duke of Toledo was defeated in this battle and while there is no real explanation of, or similarities to, the modern April Fools’ Day, this is the origin tale provided in the Netherlands.
Lastly, in Britain, some historians reference how in 1686, the English writer John Aubrey mentions a celebration called “Fooles holy day”, which is the first British reference of April Fools’ Day. On April 1 of that year, several people from around London were tricked into going to the Tower of London to “see the Lions washed”.
Arguably, nobody will ever know the definitive origins of this unique day of mockery, pranks and practical jokes. Regardless, like the fun of the day itself, it can be interesting to hypothesize as to its origins! Happy April Fools' Day!