History of April Fools’ Day,
Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent. In the Julian calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the New Year began with the spring equinox around 1 April. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Hilaria,
Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele. It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.
In Britain,
April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.
In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools’ Day hoaxes. Many people with different kind of pranks involved in this day year after year. People interact on social Medias, phone calls, neighbors mocking one another and many other ways where people can make fun of others. In spite of its history remaining mystery but still people enjoy this day pranking each other for centuries now.