1st April , 2025
Dele OlaSupo
News desk
April 1, has become a day of celebration worldwide. The origin of this unofficial annual event and tradition still stands unknown and uncertain till date, even though there are different speculations as to who started the event and or where it started and the reason for starting it.
April fool, relatively common in the world historically was seen as a custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one’s neighbor, friends, family, colleagues and others.
The first straightforward reference to April Fools’ Day comes from a 1561 Flemish poem by Eduard De Dene, which describes a servant realizing a nobleman sent him on “fool’s errands” because it was April 1. This poem tells that April Fools’ Day was likely established in the 1500s, but exactly how the event started remains unclear.
A theory ties the tradition to 16th-century, when France Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The theory is that the tradition started when France changed their calendar from Julian to Gregorian, thus changing the celebration of a new year from late March to January 1 – a transition that swept the country throughout the 1500s
According to legend, those who failed to recognize the change of the new year continued to celebrate in late March and early April, leading others to call them “April fools” and pull pranks. In this theory, early versions of April Fools’ pranks included sending foolish gifts and invitations to non-existent parties. Others trace it back to Hilaria, a Roman festival of laughter and disguise from long ago.
While most nations and geographical zones have similar ways of celebrating April fool, the manner of celebration differ in few other nations.
in Scotland, for instance, it is known as “Hunt-the-Gowk Day.”
Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians and Swedes celebrate April Fools’ Day. Most news media outlets will publish exactly one false story on 1 April; for newspapers this will typically be a first-page article but not the top headline.[
In Germany, an April Fool prank is sometimes later revealed by shouting “April, April!” at the recipient, who becomes the “April fool”.
In Nigeria, the prank is revealed by shouting “April fool”.
In Iran, it is called “Dorugh-e Sizdah” (lie of Thirteen) and people and media prank on 13 Farvardin (Sizdah bedar) that is equivalent of 1 April. It is a tradition that takes place 13 days after the Persian new year Nowruz. On this day, people go out and leave their houses and have fun outside mostly in natural parks. Pranks have reportedly been played on this holiday since 536 BC in the Achaemenid Empire.
In Ireland, it was traditional to entrust the victim with an “important letter” to be given to a named person. That person would read the letter, then ask the victim to take it to someone else, and so on. The letter when opened contained the words “send the fool further”
In Lebanon, an April Fool prank is revealed by saying كذبة أول نيسان (which translates to “First of April Lie”) to the recipient.
In Italy, France, Belgium and French-speaking areas of Switzerland and Canada, the 1 April tradition is often known as “April fish” (poisson d’avril in French, aprilvis in Dutch or pesce d’aprile in Italian). Possible pranks include attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim’s back without being noticed. This fish feature is prominently present on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools’ Day postcards. Many newspapers also spread a false story on April Fish Day, and a subtle reference to a fish is sometimes given as a clue to the fact that it is an April Fools’ prank. Boulangeries, pâtisseries and chocolatiers in France sell chocolate fishes in their shop windows on the day.
However, in Poland and many other nations, April fool ends at noon of 1 April and prima April jokes after that hour are considered inappropriate and not classy.
Imagine, the oldest known prank was in 1698 when individuals were invited to see “lions being washed” at the Tower of London.
